French and Riviera News Wednesday 6th July 2022

News

Safety campaign - Following the tragic death of a 5-year-old child hit by an electric scooter in Nice, the city of Antibes has launched a prevention campaign reminding users to wear a helmet and that riding on the pavement is forbidden. The awareness campaign was put online before the terrible accident which claimed the life of a 5-year-old child but now posters with a clear slogan have been displayed throughout the town. Fines for being caught riding on the pavement can set you back 135 euros and 35 euros if you are carrying a passenger.

Strike action – Due to strike action today from the SNCF the region's rail network is expected to experience delays and cancellations. Passengers are advised to check before travelling or use another mode of transport. This morning at Nice train station it was reported that there were no trains running between Nice and Monaco from 7.36am to 9.06am.

Fire on the island of Porquerolles - A fire has broken on the island of Porquerolles in the Var. Firefighters intervened late afternoon on Tuesday and managed to quickly bring the blaze under control. 400m² of vegetation situated behind the Argent beach was destroyed by the flames. The origin of this fire remains to be determined and teams are on site to try to collect clues.

Var records record temperature  - Meanwhile the Var region recorded a record temperature of 39.8° degrees in Cogolin on Tuesday and it was almost equalled in Fréjus with 39 degrees and 38.9 degrees in Le Luc.

Bad smell in Golfe-Juan - After being alerted by many beach goers the city council of Golfe-Juan has commissioned a company to determine where a particularly bad smell is coming from on the Midi beach in Golfe-Juan. Samples are being taken to try to determine the cause of the smell around Port Camille-Rayon. and the Midi beach which was created in the 1980s when the port infrastructure was built.

Dean of Antibes dies aged 106 - Maria Alati, the dean of Old Antibes has died at the age of 106. Maria was the dean of old Antibes and even of the city. Born in 1916 in Calabria, she arrived in the city at 14 with her father. Maria's funeral was held on Tuesday at the town’s cathedral.

Baccalaureate - Figures have shown that the success rate for the baccalaureate in France this year is 86%. A drop of 4.7 points compared to last year when the success rate stood at 90.5%. On Tuesday France’s Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye commented on the results saying that it was "not entirely surprising" because "this year is the first real year of the reformed baccalaureate which has not been hampered with by the health crisis". Since the 2019 reform, the baccalaureate mark is based 40% on continuous assessment and 60% on final tests.

Congratulations to high school students in Monaco – Meanwhile, the Prince's Government here in Monaco has sent its warmest congratulations "to high school students as well as its sincere thanks to all the management staff, teachers and non-teaching staff, whose unfailing commitment has enabled the 2022 Baccalaureate to be a success with 98.45% of the 451 students enrolled passing this year’s exam. The government also paid tribute to the teams of the Department of National Education, Youth and Sports for their mobilization.

Firefighter’s annual ball making a comeback after covid - After three years of absence due to covid, the traditional firefighter’s ball is making a comeback at the Théâtre de Verdure in Nice this Saturday. With a disco and 80s atmosphere it marks a moment, bringing together the people of Nice and the city’s firefighters and also marks the beginning of summer. The Théâtre de Verdure will open its doors at 6:30pm with a disco, before transforming into the largest open-air nightclub on the Côte d’Azur and ending with the firefighter’s traditional strip tease. Admission is 10 euros ahead of the evening and 14 at the door with all funds going to the firefighter’s association. The firefighters of Nice carry out nearly 50,000 interventions each year.

Business

British Airways has cancelled a further 1,500 flights, mostly for July. The wave of cancellations made over the past weeks will affect tens of thousands hoping to jet off this summer from Heathrow and Gatwick. The industry has been struggling with staff shortages as demand for air travel rebounds. British Airways had already removed 10% of scheduled flights between April and October but said that "regrettably" more reductions were needed.

Meanwhile, Scandinavian airline SAS has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US as a strike by its pilots added to its financial problems. The move will allow the carrier to continue operating, although the strike has grounded about half its flights. SAS said the industrial action meant the airline had brought forward plans to restructure its finances.

Strikes which threatened to cut off most of the UK's gas imports from Norway have been called off. The Norwegian labour ministry confirmed it had stepped in to end industrial action set for later this week. The UK imports about 50% of its gas and Norway is its biggest supplier making up 77% of imports. Oil and gas from Norway, Europe's second-largest energy supplier after Russia, is in high demand as many countries reduce their dependence on Russian supplies in response to the war in Ukraine.

Sport

Tennis - Britain's Cameron Norrie reached the Wimbledon semi-finals by fighting back to beat David Goffin in a memorable five-set thriller. Ninth seed Norrie, 26, battled hard to secure a 3-6 7-5 2-6 6-3 7-5 win against unseeded Belgian Goffin. Norrie will now contest his first Grand Slam semi-final, meeting defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday. Asked for his reaction to beating Goffin, Norrie said: "Honestly? Speechless. I can't even talk."

Football - The Women's European Championship starts today with hosts England taking on Austria. A record-breaking 500,000 tickets, twice as many as attended the previous Euros in the Netherlands in 2017, have been sold, with the final being staged at a sold-out Wembley on 31st July.

Meanwhile, Christophe Galtier has been named as manager of Paris St-Germain. Galtier has signed a two-year deal until the summer of 2024. He left Nice last month after guiding them to fifth in Ligue 1 and a runner-up finish in the French Cup last season.

Cricket - England casually completed a record chase of 378 to beat India in rapid time on the final morning of the fifth Test at Edgbaston. Centuries from Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took England to their highest successful pursuit in Test cricket and the ninth-largest in the history of the game.

Rugby Union - Australia second row Darcy Swain will miss the rest of the series against England after being sent off in Saturday's first Test victory. Swain, 25, was dismissed in the first half in Perth after aiming a headbutt on Jonny Hill, in retaliation to the England lock pulling his hair. Swain was banned for two weeks by a World Rugby disciplinary panel after admitting foul play at a hearing.

Weather

Clear skies, highs of 29 degrees in Monaco, Nice, Antibes and Cannes. Highs of 30 degrees in Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Tropez with a gentle breeze. This evening going down to 21 degrees with clear skies.

The outlook for Thursday and Friday - Fine, highs of 29-31 degrees.

Sea temperature:              22                        UV level:           9

Sunrise:                       05.55hr                       Sunset:     21.14hr

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