News
Number of covid patients hospitalised drops slightly in France - France has seen a slight drop in the number of people hospitalised due to covid. According to figures published on Tuesday April 26th, 24,703 people are in hospital, which is nearly 280 fewer patients than on Monday.
In Monaco on Tuesday, 45 new cases of covid were identified bringing the total number of residents affected to 11,677. Twenty-seven people are currently in hospital and 115 are being followed by the Home Monitoring Centre.
False negative covid tests - Meanwhile three managers of laboratories in the Eurofins Labazur network in Nice, are being prosecuted for having delivered negative tests for covid without any analysis of the samples. The former managers are being prosecuted for forgery, fraud and endangering others. In a press release, the company claims to “firmly condemn these criminal individual actions” and specifies that “the patients concerned were at the time individually contacted”. The case will be judged on December 9th in Nice. In total, the investigators noted 497 negative screening results for which the samples were not processed, between September 1st and October 8th, 2020 in Nice, Peymeinade and also Montauroux, in the Var.
Manufacturers to replace sunflower oil - The French state has authorized for a maximum of six months manufacturers of margarine, crisps, sauces, biscuits or dishes in sauce to replace sunflower oil in their recipes without changing their packaging. The move comes due to supply difficulties due to the war in Ukraine. Manufacturers have a period of six months to change their packaging but must indicate before two months on the packaging that a change of recipe has taken place without necessarily specifying which one.
Product recall – Meanwhile according to the government website RappelConso, due to the presence of listeria or salmonella, fifteen products have been recalled from French supermarkets in different regions of France since the beginning of the week. For details of the product and outlet go to rivieraradio.mc
Product recall - barquette de pieds de porc vinaigrette Super U brand sold in Maubourguet; salade italienne Sobovia brand sold by Super U, Auchan, Proxi, Ferme Baehl in le Bas-Rhin; sliced meat pâté of the Sobovia brand sold by Transgourmet, Distribution Iller, Pomona, Cora in the Grand-Est; minced beef steak sold on demand at the traditional butcher's department of E.Leclerc Rouen St Sever; salmon tail fillet from the E.Leclerc brand in La Rochelle; vegetable specialty with almond milk from the Jay&Joy brand sold throughout France.
Highest administrative court dismisses appeal - France's highest administrative court has dismissed an appeal from the Interior Ministry, that aimed to close a mosque in the southwestern town of Pessac for six months, a first in France. On March 14th local interior ministry's office closed the mosque for six months on the grounds that it promoted radical Islam, incited hatred and justified terrorism. A local administrative court suspended the closure 10 days later, a decision the government appealed. However, on Tuesday the State Council rejected the appeal, deeming the closure "a serious and patently illegal violation of the freedom of worship".
Pines under attack in the Gulf of Saint Tropez - The French State has asked professionals and individuals in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez to act quickly against cochineals which are attacking pine trees in the region. The insect originally from North America, causes enormous damage in pine forests and officially appeared for the first time in France last year in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, where it poses a serious threat to pines, in particular pinion pines (known as umbrella pines).
Cannes Film Festival - French actor Vincent Lindon has been chosen to be the President of the Jury of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. He will be joined by seven other jury members from all over the world. The jury will award the Palme d'or to one of the 21 films in the competition on Saturday 28 May.
Shuttle service in Marseille resumes service - The RTM maritime shuttle service has resumed in Marseille. The summer service, which consists of a fleet of five boats, connects the Old Port to L'Estaque or La Pointe Rouge until September 25th. On May 26, the Pointe Rouge-Les Goudes link will be added. The service relieves road access to the Calanques National Park during the summer and costs between 5 and 8 euros.
Business
Tesla although not involved in the Twitter deal, has lost $126 billion in value on Tuesday. The loss came amid investor concerns that Chief Executive Elon Musk may have to sell shares to fund his $21 billion equity contribution to his $44 billion buyout of Twitter. The share plunge came against a challenging backdrop for many technology-related stocks as the Nasdaq closed at its lowest level since December 2020 on Tuesday, with investors worried about slowing global growth and more aggressive rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
From today Wednesday 27th April the Russian energy firm Gazprom has said that it will stop sending gas to Poland and Bulgaria. The move comes as Russia claimed that “unfriendly” countries must start paying for gas in roubles or it would cut supplies. Both countries have refused to pay in this way.
Meanwhile the World Bank has warned that the war in Ukraine is set to cause the "largest commodity shock" since the 1970s. In a new forecast, it said disruption caused by the conflict would contribute to huge price rises for goods ranging from natural gas to wheat and cotton.
And a study has claimed that the introduction of new post-Brexit trading rules last year caused a "major shock" to UK-EU trade. The research from the LSE Centre for Economic Performance found UK imports from the EU fell by 25% relative to those from elsewhere in 2021. Its authors suggest new rules had also caused many UK firms to stop exporting to the trade block.
Sport
Football – In the Champions League Manchester City have beaten Real Madrid in an astonishing first leg-tie with a 4-3 win on Tuesday night. Tonight, in the Champions League Liverpool face Villarreal. Kick off is at 9pm French time.
In other football news Paris St-Germain are increasingly hopeful that France striker Kylian Mbappe, who has been linked with Real Madrid, will sign a new deal with them following talks with the 23-year-old's mother last week.
Tennis – World number one Novak Djokovic can defend his Wimbledon title after organisers said players who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to compete. The 34-year-old, was not allowed to play at the Australian Open in January following a row that centred around him being unvaccinated.
Rugby Union - London Irish have eased passed Leicester Tigers winning 59-20 to reach their first Premiership Cup final.
Formula One - A plan to double the number of Formula 1 'sprint' events next season is being held up by governing body the FIA. The teams unanimously backed a proposal from commercial rights holder F1 to hold six sprint events next year at Tuesday's meeting of the F1 Commission. But the FIA said in a statement that it was "evaluating the impact of the proposal on its trackside operations and personnel".
Weather
Sunny with some cloudy spells but no rain. Light winds highs of 18-19 degrees along the coast in Nice, Cannes and Saint Tropez. 20-21 degrees inland in the Var and the Alpes Maritimes.
This evening going down to 12-13 degrees with light cloudy spells and light winds.
Outlook for tomorrow Thursday and Friday; fine with highs of 21 degrees and the chance of some scattered showers inland by Friday afternoon.
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