National News
French President speaks about nuclear escalation - French President Emmanuel Macron has said that China has an important role to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, after Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike. Macron met with China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro as part of the G20 summit, and said he asked him to put pressure on Putin to end the war with Ukraine. He also called for Putin to show "reason." Macron said North Korea's decision to send troops to fight in Ukraine had raised the stakes for China, and that it should push for a de-escalation after Putin's decision to change Russia's nuclear doctrine. Putin approved the change as Ukraine used U.S missiles to strike deeper into Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden on the war's 1,000th day.
Local News
Weather warning due to strong winds - Corsica has been placed on an orange weather alert by Meteo France this Wednesday due to exceptionally strong winds. The warning is in place until 8pm this evening. Gusts are expected to peak at up to 160 to 200km/h, in Cap Corse. Meanwhile, no warning is announced in the south-east of France, but you may have noticed the wind pick up on Tuesday evening. Strong winds are expected to continue with gusts of 85km/h in Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée, 70km/h in Théoule-sur-Mer and 60km/h in Nice. In the Var, peaks of 80km/h are forecast for Saint-Tropez as well as gusts of between 60 and 70km/h in the rest of the department.
SNCF train strike this evening from 7pm - An SNCF rail strike is planned to start this evening Wednesday, November 20th, at 7pm. The strike was called by angry employees following the confirmation in early November of the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the leading company in France for rail freight transport, with the loss of 500 jobs out of 5,000 and also the announcement that on December 14th approximately 1,200 railway workers in Amiens, Nice and Nantes will be relocated.
According to the SNCF Rail traffic will be "almost normal on TGV services" while "some disruptions are to be expected on certain regional lines". In the PACA region, TERZOU traffic is likely to be disrupted and on some regional lines, 7 out of 10 TERs will be running. For more detail passengers are advised to check on the SNCF website which will be regularly updated. The strike is expected to last until 8am tomorrow morning.
Food donations this weekend - Reported at the beginning on the week on Riviera Radio don’t forget that France’s Food Bank is launching its national collection for food and hygiene products this Friday and Saturday. Recent regional figures have revealed that there are 36,000 beneficiaries in the Alpes-Maritimes which represents the equivalent of 3 million meals and also shows a 33% increase in demand in just 2 years. The Food Bank is open all year round. But this weekend makes it easier to make donations with volunteers carrying out collections in your local supermarket.
The organisation points out that life is 5 to 10% more expensive in the Alpes Maritimes compared to other departments of France. The poverty rate in Nice and Cannes is 22%, while in France, before the war in Ukraine and inflation, it was 14.5%. In Nice alone, there are a thousands of homeless people. And according to one association “the leading cause of death among them is food poisoning”. In addition, if you’d like to be a "collection volunteer" at the Alpes-Maritimes Food Bank, you can contact the team by sending an email to BA060.president@banquealimentaire.org or call 06.49.78.32.63.
Reports of new admin fees from high street bank – According to reports in The Connexion newspaper France “one of France’s leading high street banks has introduced new admin fees of up to €300 a year on second-home owners and other non-resident account holders”. The paper also reports that "another bank is also doubling fees for certain clients who live abroad". Meriem Jammali, president of banking consumer association SOS Litiges Banques & Assurances, said banks are free to fix their fees and, while they must communicate changes, this can be via their website before adding that “one must always check statements and annual fees.” Jammali's association has helped some clients to obtain a partial reimbursement of such fees.
Former companion of Commander Cousteau says fear of sharks is totally unjustified - Following the news that a great white shark was recently seen in the waters of the Port-Cros National Park in the Var, François Sarano, former travelling companion of Commander Cousteau has said that “the fear of sharks is totally unjustified”. Sarano, is a specialist in great white sharks and when asked if he is surprised by seeing a great white shark along the Var coast? He answers, “absolutely not” before adding “what surprises me most, is the media hype surrounding it”. Adding “soon, people will be surprised to see birds in the sky.” He concludes that “the presence of a great white shark, is encouraging, but we should not make a big deal of it”.
A sea of red and white flags marked a memorable day for Monaco - The Principality certainly came alive on Tuesday November 19th, as Monegasques and citizens alike celebrated its Fête Nationale. The annual celebration led by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and the Princely Family was a moving moment of tradition and unity. There was an array of festivities marking the enduring legacy of the Grimaldi family. The day concluded with a sea of Monaco’s emblematic red and white flags from an enthusiastic crowd as they applauded the Princely Family at their traditional appearance on the Palace balcony. Prince Albert and Princess Charlene were joined on the balcony by Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, as well as Princess Caroline of Hanover and Princess Stéphanie.
Fancy joining the team at the famous Lemon Festival in Menton? - You only have a few days left to join the team of the Lemon Festival in Menton. At the beginning of the month the Menton tourist office launched its major annual recruitment campaign three months ahead of the event. Candidates have until this Friday November 22nd to apply at the Palais de l'Europe. The 91st edition of the unmissable event in Menton, will be held from February 15th to March 2nd, 2025. No fewer than 350 temporary staff are required for the five parades of the festival (Sundays February 16 and 23, Sunday March 2, Thursdays February 20 and 27). Some will be responsible for checking tickets at the entrances, others will ensure security within the grounds, and some will provide information to tourists. The job is paid the hourly minimum wage, with a 50% increase on Sundays.
Around forty handlers are also needed. They will be in charge of organising the fruit displays on the structures in the gardens and on the floats. Candidates must be of legal age on February 1st, 2025, and are invited to go to the Palais de L’Europe open Monday to Friday from 2pm to 5pm. Access is on rue Pasteur, via the artists' entrance.
Collection points to donate second hand toys - Do you have toys cluttering up your home? Several collection points have been set up to donate them to various associations in the Antibes, Cannes and Grasse area. Up until November the 30th and to coincide with the European Week for Waste Reduction, launched by Ecosysteme, in partnership with Ecomaison and other local authorities, now is your opportunity to give them away. All collection points and dates are available at www.laisseparlertoncoeur.org you can also get more information on 04.93.40.57.38 or by email at pmerchier@paysdegrasse.fr
Christmas charity sale - The town of Cavalaire in the Var, is holding a Christmas sale. For those who haven't had time to look for a bargain to give as a gift yet, don't panic! The association "Du cœur dans les épinards" is preparing two events: the Christmas sale, which returns this Saturday, November 23rd from 8:30pm to 1:30pm at the village hall, and the toy sale at the Maison de la Mer exhibition hall, Thursday, December 5th from 5pm to 8pm and Friday, December 6th from 9am to 4pm. More than 3,000 items will be on sale at bargain prices. The perfect opportunity to find gift ideas. All items on sale are sorted in advance by the association's volunteers. All funds raised during the sale and the sale of toys will be used to buy food and hygiene products for underprivileged families registered with social workers.
Window cleaning competition – Finally, a student from Toulouse in southwestern France has won a window cleaning competition. 300 students from 11 establishments in central and southern France, took part in the inter-academy competition for cleaning professions. Among the events was window cleaning speed. Around ten high school and vocational training centre students competed. The rules of this event are very clear and demanding. Among the participants, was Mahamadou who is in his final year, in Toulouse and went on to win the event, in 24 seconds.
Business
French daily newspaper "Ouest-France" has become the first French newspaper to leave the social network X. The newspaper follows several other European media, including the UK’s Guardian newspaper, which have slammed the door on the old Twitter since it became the property of the American billionaire Elon Musk. X (formerly Twitter) has been accused by many media outlets of spreading false information and not allocating enough resources to moderate exchanges on the platform.
The British luxury car manufacturer Jaguar has unveiled a new logo and branding ahead of its relaunch as an electric only brand. The company will launch three new electric cars in 2026, having taken new cars off sale more than a year ago to focus on reinventing the brand. Jaguar had announced its transition to electric vehicles in 2021.
Engineers at Columbia University’s Creative Machines Lab have created a robot which can anticipate and mimic human facial expressions. Called Emo, they believe that it is a significant advance in improving interaction quality and fostering trust between humans and robots. Through ChatGPT many robots have made strides in verbal communication. But their ability to take in and express facial cues has lagged. Emo is equipped with several AI models including allowing it to interact in a way that feels timely and genuine. A study published in Science Robotics described Emo as being able to anticipate human facial expressions and mimic them simultaneously, even predicting a forthcoming smile.
And – An AI-generated UK grandmother named “Daisy” may just be the answer to deterring scam phone calls. UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 created Daisy in order to speak with scammers and waste as much of their time as possible. Using ChatGPT, Daisy will ramble on about her passion for knitting and tell long-winded, fabricated stories about family members with the goal of keeping scammers on the line. In theory, every minute spent frustratingly chatting with Daisy about its made-up family or daily chores is one less minute a scammer could be targeting a real person. As Daisy says in one recording; “Let’s face it dear, I’ve got all the time in the world.” A recent survey in the UK claimed that over than two-thirds of UK residents over the age of 75 had experienced at least one fraud attempt in the past six months. 40% of those respondents faced frequent fraud attempts.
Sport
Tennis – It was a sad day for fans of Rafael Nadal after he played his last match on Tuesday. The Spanish great, who has won 22 Grand slam titles said goodbye as Spain lost to the Netherlands in the Davis Cup on an emotional night in Malaga.
Football – In the Nations League on Tuesday, Wales pulled off an unexpected return to the top tier as they came from behind to beat Iceland 4-1. The group stage for the new-look Nations League is over and the tournament will resume next year with the knockout stages, plus relegation and promotion play-offs. The eight teams through to the next phase are: Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The draw for the quarterfinals will take place in Switzerland on Friday, 22 November.
And - It’s been reported that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has agreed a one-year contract extension.
Golf - LIV Golf's Sergio Garcia is set to rejoin the DP World Tour for the 2025 season as he seeks to play at next year's Ryder Cup. 44 year old Garcia, who is the event's record points scorer, wants to match Lee Westwood and Sir Nick Faldo's European record of 11 appearances at the competition.
Weather
Strong winds across our region with gust of up to 70km/hr forecast. Corsica has been placed on an orange weather alert due to violent winds. The warning is in place until 8pm this evening. Cloudy patches to start, with hazy sunshine by this afternoon and highs of 20 degrees in Nice, 19 degrees in Cannes and Saint-Tropez, 18 degrees in Monaco. 17 degrees in Toulon. 15 degrees in Puget Théniers and 14 degrees in Tende. This evening going down to 13 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow, moderate winds, becoming increasingly cloudy as the day continues with showers forecast by the evening. Friday sunny with highs of 15 degrees.
Sunrise 07.31am
Sunset 05.00pm
Weather elsewhere
London 5° and sunny.
Paris 7° light rain.
New York 15° light cloud.
And Finally
A man who accidentally binned a hard drive containing Bitcoin has told reporters it is now worth more than £500m following recent price surges. 39-year-old James Howells has been trying to retrieve the hard driver containing his lost Bitcoin fortune, which he believes is in a Newport landfill site, for over a decade. The hard drive reportedly contains 8,000 Bitcoins – worth around £4m at the time it was binned, but now worth more than £569m. Mr Howells acquired the Bitcoins, also known as BTC, during the early days of the cryptocurrency.
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