News
Mayors speak of an increasingly difficult situation ahead of congress - Ahead of the 7th congress for mayors of the Alpes Maritimes, which will take place in Cannes on October the 10th, city officials have warned of an “increasingly difficulty situation”. The mayor of Grasse says, “things are getting more and more complicated” adding that “France is facing a crisis, and local elected officials are on the front line, facing an explosion of violence and in some cases death threats”. He points out that the “French state transfers the cost, but not the means”. The congress is open from 8am to 5pm next Thursday October 10th and will welcome mayors, deputies, councillors, local elected officials, public decision-makers and community agents.
Kebab shop closed after shooting - Authorities in Cagnes sur mer have closed a kebab shop in front of which a shooting took place last week. The establishment, located on rue Pasqualini in Cagnes-sur-Mer, will be administratively closed for the next three months. Two people were seriously injured as Kalashnikov shots were fired in front of the shop on Thursday 26th September. The ongoing investigation into the incident has led to four individuals being arrested.
Flood Prevention in Cannes – Authorities in Cannes in partnership with the Lérins islands, have made significant progress in flood prevention. Following a severe flash flood on the 23rd of September, local authorities' proactive measures, such as stormwater retention and natural land preservation, minimized damage. With €145 million allocated to the region’s flood prevention plan, ongoing structural projects aim to further protect against future climate events.
20th anniversary of Monaco's membership in the Council of Europe - H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco will visit Strasbourg today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Monaco's membership of the European Council. During the visit, he will attend a ceremony on Human Rights and visit an exhibition on Monaco. The visit will conclude with the unveiling of an artwork titled "Ode to Freedom," contributed by the prince and gifted to the European Council.
Pink October - Pink October will see several activities take place in our region to raise awareness about breast cancer and in Marseille twenty-four woman undergoing treatment, will parade on Saturday October 5th and embrace their shaved heads. Described by participants as a “liberating movement” the women with cancer will throw their wigs in the air, revealing their bald heads to the audience. Co-founder Clara Lecuelle Magnan, of the "gang of shaved heads", an association created in Marseille, says she wants to encourage screening and give courage to sick women. Adding that “It’s a liberating movement, a powerful gesture, it's like freeing yourself from your illness”. Clara Lecuelle Magnan paraded for the first time in July 2021. Since then, other parades have taken place in Lille, Paris and Nice. While public awareness is important, the shaved head gang wants the event to also benefit the participants and women that live with the illness.
Altantique race arrives in Antibes - The Finistère Atlantique race is to arrive in Antibes. The race left Brittany on September 28th and the five Ultims and their crews after 3,500 miles will land in Antibes today, Wednesday, October 2nd. Some of the most majestic sailboats will be present. The 5 boats will remain in Antibes until Sunday, October 6th, at Port Vauban, to allow spectators to admire them. From tomorrow there will be plenty of activities with the boats taking part in timed coastal events between Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet.
Business
Recently appointed French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has presented his policy to the National Assembly announcing a cut in public spending and a rise in taxes. In an hour and 22 minutes, Barnier presented his program, detailing the projects he plans to undertake from Matignon. The former European Commissioner listed his five priorities at the head of the government: the standard of living of the French, public services, daily security, control of immigration and more fraternity in a country which was divided into three large blocs during the last Parliamentary elections. Michel Barnier throughout his speech strove to defend a method made of "listening" and "dialogue", two words repeated about ten times on Tuesday afternoon.
Microsoft has announced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants with “really good long-term memory” are about a year away. In an exclusive interview Microsoft’s head said that products which can recall conversations, projects and problems will encourage users to invest more time and share more of their personal history with them. Critics have voiced strong concerns around this level of integration, including data security, privacy, the possibility of AI tools giving bad advice or wrong information, or displaying inbuilt bias towards the person they are supposed to be helping.
In the UK Nationwide has completed its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money. The deal merges two of the UK's largest banking groups. The combined group will have around 24.5 million customers and nearly 700 branches - though it could take several years for the merging process to be completed. When it does, Virgin Money is expected to disappear from UK high streets.
And - New rules come into force today aimed at protecting phone users from surprise charges when they use their devices abroad. Mobile providers in the UK will now have to notify customers when they start roaming and advise them on how they can set a spend cap and direct them to where they can find additional information. Post-Brexit, a law requiring operators to alert customers of roaming charges was brought in, but it lapsed in June 2022. A review by the regulator Ofcom found the quality of information being provided since then has been "inconsistent and unclear", with nearly a fifth of holidaymakers left unaware they could face extra charges.
Sport
Football – In the Champions League on Tuesday evening Arsenal secured their first win as they overcame Paris St-Germain. In this evening’s action Lille are at home to Real Madrid for the first time and Liverpool play Bologna.
Meanwhile, French team Brest are back on the European stage, with a second impressive victory this Tuesday beating Austria in the Champtions League 4-0. With 6 points in two matches, Brest temporarily sits at the top and has taken a serious step towards a possible qualification for the play-offs to reach the round of 16.
Rugby Union - Australia back Jordan Petaia is reportedly set to become the latest rugby union player to try their luck in American Football's NFL. The 24-year-old, is reportedly lined up to attend the NFL's International Player Pathway development camp in Florida in January.
Tennis - Carlos Alcaraz will play Jannik Sinner in the China Open final after cruising past Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. The Spanish world number three needed 88 minutes to seal a 7-5 6-3 win against his opponent who needed two medical timeouts for treatment on his left leg.
Weather
Mostly cloudy with some sunny intervals and hazy sunshine in the Var, scattered showers inland. Becoming increasingly cloudy in the Var region. Highs of 26 degrees in Nice, Monaco and Saint-Tropez. 24 degrees in Toulon. Strong winds are expected by this afternoon across the Var and the Alpes Maritimes. This evening going down to 17 degrees and cloudy.
The outlook for tomorrow, light rain in Nice to start. Clear skies in the Var with a moderate to strong wind. Feeling cooler with highs of 21 degrees. Friday much the same with showers to start clearing by the afternoon and highs of 20 degrees.
Sunrise 07.29am
Sunset 07.08pm
Weather elsewhere
London 17° drizzle.
Palma 29° sunny.
Liverpool 16° sunny intervals.
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