French and Riviera News Wednesday 1st June 2022

News

1st of the month - As with the first of every month in France today will see certain changes come into effect notably, the circulation of polluting vehicles in the Paris suburbs and insurances on mortgages. It's a small revolution in the world of real estate. But from June 1st, it will now be possible to terminate the insurance of your mortgage at any time and thus play the competition more easily. This measure concerns new contracts, but it will also apply to old contracts from 1st September. At the same time, the famous medical questionnaire is removed for all mortgages which end before the 60th birthday of the borrower up to 200,000 euros per person - or 400,000 euros for a couple. Also, from today Crit'Air 4 category vehicles, already banned in Paris, will no longer have the right to drive in the suburbs’ of the French capital, the border is delimited by the A86.

French President tackles crisis in the health sector - French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the launch of a new "one-month mission on unscheduled care". During a visit to Cherbourg on Tuesday the Head of State also said he wanted to launch "from July" a major conference on health. Macron declared that thanks to the mission, a very concrete assessment of the situation of the emergency services will be possible. At least 120 emergency services in hospitals in France have been forced to limit their activity. Almost 20% of the approximately 620 establishments, public and private, hosting one or more emergency services are affected.

Champion League final - According to several police officers and experts interviewed by French media, the failure of the security system put in place last Saturday, during the Champions League final, is due to an undersized system but also to the types of units put forward to intervene near the Stade de France. Videos showing relatively calm supporters, sometimes families with children with tickets being pushed back with tear gas spray, left many shocked. Experts describe the lack of coordination between the various services responsible for ensuring order that evening, a lack of means and an undersized device. It was on Tuesday that Liverpool’s chairman Tom Werner sent a letter to France's sports minister, asking her to apologize for the chaos at the Stade de France. The club has been left astonished by the management of access to the Stade de France and the communication of the French government and the police headquarters who have blamed the Reds.

Strike in school canteens in Nice - Strike action has been announced by school canteens in Nice tomorrow Thursday June 9th. The CGT union has filed a strike notice concerning maintenance workers, ATSEM and catering staff in schools in protest of low wages, poor working conditions and understaffing.

Parliamentary elections - Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis Christian Estrosi has shown his support in the parliamentary elections for Manuel Valls by attending a public meeting held here in Monaco at the Novotel. Speaking to reporters Estrosi said "as Minister of the Interior and then Prime Minister, Manuel Valls was always someone who - like me - went beyond all partisan divisions".

May 2022 hottest ever recorded in France - According to Météo-France, the month of May 2022 was the hottest ever recorded in France. The average temperature was higher than normal for the season by +3 degrees. So far, the record was held by the month of May 2011 (+1.9 degrees above). During the third week of May, the national average temperature did not drop below 20 degrees. Such a series had previously been unpublished in May since at least 1947. These exceptional temperatures for the season are also accompanied by extremely low rainfall making May also one of the driest ever recorded with May 2011 and May 1976. Météo-France specifies that this exceptionally hot month of May does not "allow us to make forecasts for the summer". In fact, the high temperatures of May 2011 were not followed by a summer that was warmer than seasonal norms. Nevertheless, Météo-France still predicts higher than normal temperatures for the months of June and July in France.

Birth in Colomars - For the first time in almost 10 years, a child has been born in Colomars. A happy event not only for the parents but also for the municipality. Ava was born at her home on May 27th at 4:55am. The last birth registered with the civil status services of the village was dated January 22, 2013.

Kidsou application chauffeur service for children - The first driver application for children “Kidsou” has arrived on the French Riviera. Present since 2019, in the north of France, the very first application of private drivers for minors arrives today Wednesday June 1st in the Alpes-Maritimes. Unable to pick up your child from school, at the airport or even from a party, the founders of the app aim to make it a reassuring tool for parents. A chauffeur service for children, a bit like taxi and Uber but more secure to make life easier for parents.

Business

Oil prices have hit fresh highs after European Union leaders agreed on a plan to block more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports. Brent crude rose above $123 a barrel on Tuesday, the highest it has been for two months. Prices for oil and gas have soared in recent months, fuelled by the lifting of lockdowns and the Ukraine war.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that France should come out of the peak of inflation by the end of 2023. According to INEE estimates inflation accelerated again in May, to 5.2% over one year, thus exceeding the 5% mark for the first time since September 1985. Prices are currently being driven up by the situation on the energy markets as well as that of the food markets. The comparison between France and its European neighbours remains however rather flattering, German inflation having recorded a new record on Monday (+7.9% over one year in May).

Figures from notaires and INSEE have shown that the price of an apartment in the French capital is falling, while in Lyon they are only increasing modestly. Marseille has seen the rise accelerate. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the prices of old apartments increased by 9% over one year. In the first quarter of 2022, they took 10.4% over one year. This is even faster than the whole of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, where prices increased by 9.1%.

The UK's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said airlines and operators have "seriously oversold flights and holidays" relative to their capacity to deliver. Mr Shapps said it had been "very distressing" to see people facing more disruption at airports with "holidays cancelled and plans left in disarray". Passengers are facing travel problems ahead of the Jubilee weekend, with several airlines cancelling flights. Up to two million people are preparing to fly over the next few days.

For the third consecutive year, France remained in 2021 the most attractive country in Europe, according to the annual EY barometer published on Tuesday. In total, 1,222 expansion or expansion projects were announced last year. This is 24% more than in 2020, a year logically marked by a decline of 18%. Thanks to this performance, France is widening the gap with the United Kingdom, second with 993 projects (+2%) and Germany which has 841 projects (-10%).

Sport

Tennis - Rafael Nadal demonstrated once again why he is the greatest player in French Open history by beating long-time rival Novak Djokovic in a late-night thriller to reach the men's singles semi-finals. Nadal started superbly and fought off resistance from defending champion Djokovic to win 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) at Roland Garros. Nadal secured victory at 1:15am local time after over four hours on court. The 21-time Grand Slam winner now faces third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday.

Football - England will play their Nations League group match against Hungary in Budapest on Saturday with at least 30,000 fans in attendance - even though the fixture is being held behind closed doors. Hungary have been ordered to play games without crowds after racist behaviour by their fans. But their football association is using a Uefa regulation that allows children to attend, accompanied by an adult. And the Hungarian FA has had 30,000 children register for Saturday's game.

Cricket - Pace bowler Stuart Broad says England must play a style of cricket that will attract supporters to watch Tests. None of the five days of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's, beginning on Thursday, have sold out. It will be England's first Test under the leadership of new coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, coming after a run of one win in 17 matches.

Weather

Sunny with light winds highs of 24 degrees in Nice, Cannes and Antibes. This evening going down to 17 degrees with clear skies.

The outlook for Thursday and Friday - Fine tomorrow highs of 25 degrees. Sunny intervals on Friday highs of 24-25 degrees.

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