French and Riviera News Wednesday 24th November 2021

News 

Cap d'Antibes closed to the public due to bad weather - Antibes city council has closed the coastal area of Cap d'Antibes until Friday November 26th, due to bad weather. Authorities announced the closure due to strong winds which are expected along the coast between now and Friday.

Two complaints lodged for sexual assault through the "balance ton bar" movement - At least two complaints have been lodged for sexual assault against an employee of a bar in Villeneuve-Loubet. On Friday morning, the Instagram page "Balance ton bar Nice" published a testimony of a sexual assault by an employee. Two complaints were filed this Monday, November 22.

Both incidents date back to 2017. Two young girls in their twenties who claim to not have been drinking excessively while spending the evening at the What's up bar in Villeneuve-Loubet, Marina Baie-des-Anges, say they "blacked out" and "woke up in an unknown place" in the presence of someone they identify as the boss's son, employed at the bar.

Main suspect of the murder of businessman Jean-Marc Sandré charged - The main suspect in the murder of businessman Jean-Marc Sandré in the Var has been charged. The alleged assassin of Jean-Marc Sandré, killed in June 2019 in Cavalaire, was extradited from Madagascar ten months after his arrest. Jean-Marc Sandré had disappeared on June 3rd, 2019, while on his way to work at the Marine Plaisance shipyard, founded in 1977. Surprised not to see him at the shipyard, his business partner and then his family had launched the alert the same day.

Safety exercise on tramline in Nice - A safety exercise is being carried out on line 2 of the Tramway in Nice. The stations of Port Lympia, Garibaldi le Chateau and Durandy will be closed to the public from 11pm this evening Wednesday 24th November. The prefecture has asked the public to "avoid the area" during the exercise. Replacement lines will be set up to maintain continuity of the service.

Parking wardens end strike action - After eighteen days of strike action, the agents of the company Moovia, of the subsidiary Transdev, who are in charge of parking metres in Nice have ended the strike, without having won their case. Since the 4th November, fourteen employees have been denouncing their working conditions and remuneration. Their management had offered them a bonus of 175 euros gross but the "employees are demanding an increase in wages" citing its importance in being able to ask for a mortgage or loan to rent an apartment. The bonus also depends on the agent's efficiency as according to local reports "651 daily vehicle checks need to be carried out".

Fight against loneliness - In the fight against loneliness the platform Bip Pop is connecting volunteers and isolated people and the Alpes Maritimes is one of ten departments in France to have recently joined the platform under "monvoisin06aducoeur". The platform covers 1,000 towns in France and 6,000 people have already signed up.

The Blevins Franks Charitable Foundation gets ready for the Nice-Cannes Marathon - The team of Blevins Franks is getting ready to participate in the Nice-Cannes Marathon 2021 which is taking place this weekend. Staff, family members, friends and clients will run through the French Riviera to raise much needed funds for some very worthy causes. The goal is to raise money for "The Blevins Franks Charitable Foundation" established in November 2016. Only days to go and it isn't too late to join. Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated. Visit the Blevins Franks donation page Virgin Money Giving | Blevins Franks Foundation

Three members of the same family die from covid in north-eastern France - Three members of the same family and living under the same roof have died of covid in the space of six days in Courcelles-sous-Châtenois, a small town in the Vosges with barely 78 inhabitants. Reported in the local media, 89-year-old Robert, 82-year-old Odile and 48-year-old Dominique Py were not vaccinated against covid.

The couple had three other children in addition to Dominique, to which were added over the years eight grandchildren and even a great-granddaughter. The daughter-in-law of Robert and Odile Py and sister-in-law of Dominique, faced with this terrible loss, has since launched a call for vaccination on French media.

France's Health Minister raises the alarm on 5th wave of covid – Meanwhile France's health Minister Olivier Veran has raised the alarm on the fifth wave of Covid during Tuesday's traditional questioning session to the government at the National Assembly. Véran, announced that "30,000 cases" of Covid-19 have been identified "in the last 24 hours". A figure which had not been reached since the summer, when 30,920 cases had been identified on August 11th, according to official data from Public Health France.

The minister went on to say that "It is a very significant increase in contaminations which confirms that France unfortunately, is in a fifth epidemic wave" emphasising the importance of vaccination to try to stop the progression of the virus and avoid serious cases. "Six million French people who can be vaccinated have not yet been vaccinated, that's too many," said Olivier Véran in front of MPs. "We have to stop saying 'I'm waiting, we don't have enough hindsight', we have the hindsight, and we know that it works. We also have the sufficient hindsight to know that we are twelve times more likely to make a severe form of Covid when you are not vaccinated".

Education minister confirms closure of 6,000 classes in France – France's Minister of National Education Jean-