National News
Candidates pull out of this weekend’s run-off election - More than 200 candidates have confirmed that they will not stand in Sunday’s second round of parliamentary elections in France. Opponents of France's far-right National Rally stepped up their bid to block the party from power on Tuesday as more candidates agreed to pull out of this weekend's run-off election to avoid splitting the anti-National Rally vote. Marine Le Pen's National Rally came out well ahead in Sunday's first-round vote after President Emmanuel Macron's gamble on a snap election backfired, leaving his centrist camp in third place behind the National Rally and a hastily formed left-wing alliance. However, even before the manoeuvring of the last 24 hours to create a "republican front" to block the anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic party, it was far from clear the National Rally could win the 289 seats needed for a majority.
The "republican front" has worked before. It was back in 2002 when voters in France rallied behind Jacques Chirac to defeat Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie, in a presidential election. However, it is not certain voters these days are willing to follow guidance from political leaders on where to place their vote, while Marine Le Pen’s efforts to soften the image of her party has made it less of an outcast for millions.
Assuming no group has a clear majority after Sunday, politicians across the spectrum have proposed various ways of proceeding to see out the remainder of Macron's presidency. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal suggested mainstream right, left and centre parties could form ad hoc alliances to vote through individual pieces of legislation in the new parliament. Xavier Bertrand, a senior member of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party, called on Tuesday for a "provisional government" to run France until the next presidential election.
Mayor of Paris tries to reassure visitors ahead of the Olympics - Meanwhile, the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has tried to reassure visitors that the festive mood at the Olympics will not be dampened by the National Rally’s success in the first round of parliamentary elections. With less than a month to go before the city hosts the Games the socialist mayor today French media “I say to visitors from the world over – come over! Because Paris is a city that stands up for freedom and is a city of resistance against the extreme right.”
Local News
Tensions between local residents and travellers - Tensions are rising in La Garde in the Var region as local residents declare they “will do everything in their power to make a group of travellers leave the region”. Around ten caravans and thirteen vehicles have set up camp in the area planning, like every year, to spend the summer in the Plan de la Garde. However, locals have had enough. While the town hall has backed them agreeing that the travellers are not welcome, the mayor has pointed out that while caravans are forbidden on protected areas, they cannot prevent them from accessing the private land. Following an investigation by police authorities have since been informed that the owner of the land had indeed given the authorization for the caravans to occupy the site.
Monegasque population on the rise - Data from the latest census carried out in the Principality has shown that the number of residents is increasing. The Monegasque Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (IMSEE) published on Tuesday an updated demographic survey of the Monegasque population and Monegasques represent a quarter of Monaco's residents. In 2023, the Principality of Monaco counted 38,367 residents, an increase of +2.8% (1,059 people) compared to a census carried out in 2016. According to the study there are 141 different nationalities in the Principality and Monegasques form a quarter of the population (24%), ahead of the French (22%), Italians (20%) and the British (7%). Russians, Swiss and Belgians each account for 3% of the resident population.
L’Académie de la mer - After several years of setting up a project delayed by Covid, the “Academy of the Sea” has opened its first summer session. The training from July 1st to 13th was presented at Le Méridien in front of a panel of local political figures and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, who is the honorary president.The training will last two weeks with lessons on the health assessment of the seas and oceans, international and geopolitical relations relating to the seas and oceans, and an overview of Contemporary Law of the Sea, along with conferences, round tables and outside meetings on maritime transport and other environmental issues. The first summer session will conclude with a conference on July 12th and 13, on fishing, overfishing, and all its dimensions.
Scratch card winner - Finally, a player in Toulon has won 600,000 euros on a “Méga Mots Croisés” scratchcard. According to the FDJ, the winner plans to change cars with his winnings and may retire early. The lucky winner bought his ticket at the tobacco bar "Le Barcelona" in Toulon.
Business
Motorists in the UK are being warned that fuel prices are on the rise again amid rising oil costs. The AA declared on Tuesday July 2nd, that a 10-week run of falling pump prices had come to an end and that while average costs were still locked at levels seen last week, a growing number of forecourts were imposing hikes to pump costs due to higher oil and wholesale charges.
Meanwhile, following rather bleak predictions in Tuesdays’ business news, Tesla has surprised analysts with better-than-expected car sales. Sales, hit by a significant slump earlier this year, may be showing signs of revival. Elon Musk's electric carmaker delivered nearly 444,000 vehicles in the three months ended 30 June, up more than 14% from the prior quarter. That was far more than most analysts had expected, though still down nearly 5% from the same period in 2023.
And – The animation film Inside Out has become the first film of the year to take over $1bn worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film of the year. It is the first to reach the milestone since Warner Brothers' movie Barbie last year, faster than any animated film in history. The Pixar and Walt Disney collaboration is about a young girl called Riley, and the emotions she experiences as she learns and grows (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust). Following the success of the first movie which was released in 2015, the sequel introduces new emotions into the mix, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment - as Riley becomes a teenager.
Sport
Football - In the European Championship Turkey has stunned Austria beating them 2-1 to set up a quarter-final with the Netherlands. The Netherlands beat Romania 3-0.
The quarterfinals will start on Friday with Spain playing Germany with a 6pm kick off French time and Portugal facing France, kick off is at 9pm. Then on Saturday in the other quarter final games England face Switzerland in the first match at 6pm and the Netherlands play Turkey in the later game.
Tennis - Novak Djokovic has won his first match since knee surgery to reach the second round at Wimbledon. Novak beat Vit Kopriva 6-1 6-2 6-2 under the roof on Centre Court. He will next play British wildcard Jacob Fearnley.
Meanwhile, Jack Draper marked his first Wimbledon match as British men's number one with a five-set success on Centre Court as the 22-year-old replaced Murray. Former world number one Andy Murray announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the men’s singles at Wimbledon due to injury.
Cycling – Slovenian cyclist and 2020 winner of the Tour de France Pogacar has regained the leader's yellow jersey in thrilling fashion as he won stage four of the Tour de France on Tuesday. Today Wednesday 3rd July, participants will face a flat stage 5 of 177km from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas. Jasper Philipsen is one of the favourites to win this stage with
Weather
Clear skies with cloudy patches this afternoon. Strong winds persisting in the Var with gust of up to 70km/hr. Highs of 26 degrees in Nice, Monaco, Cannes and Antibes. 28-29 degrees in Toulon and Marseille with clear skies. This evening going down to 18 degrees.
The outlook for tomorrow, fine with a moderate breeze and highs of 26-27 degrees. Friday and heading into the weekend remaining fine with some scattered showers forecast for Sunday. Temperatures rising heading into next week reaching up to 29-30 degrees in places.
Sunrise 05.53am
Sunset 09.15pm
Sea temperature
Marseille 21 degrees
UV level 9
Strong winds
Weather elsewhere
Barcelona 24 degrees sunny intervals.
Athens 33 degrees and sunny.
Liverpool 17 degrees with light rain.
And Finally
Splitting up household jobs, whether it’s cleaning, washing or paying the bills, it is an issue that affects a lot of couples. Starling Bank found women do a total of 36 hours of household tasks and admin per week, equivalent to a full-time job. This is nine hours more than men and yet men believe they do the majority in their household. The average man estimates they do 52% of work overall. It's the discrepancy between perception and reality (and, of course, this can work both ways) that leads to arguments. Couples who don't divide the housework equally have roughly five arguments about housework each month rising to eight for couples who rely on just one person for the work.
So what are the best ways to split household work - and how to deal with arguments should they arise with your partner. It's necessary to be "transparent" when deciding how to split the workload - but also to be flexible in order to find a solution that suits all involved. You should enter the conversation with a positive mindset - think how you are both contributing to the relationship in different ways. Try to avoid starting the chat with the perspective that you are working a lot harder than your partner and they're not pulling their weight. If you find the conversations aren't helping, you can always try organising a rota. Using phrases like "I've noticed" or "I've observed" can help. Good luck!
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