National News France
Foiled terrorist attack planned in concert hall - Three young people have been arrested as part of an investigation into a foiled attack planned in a concert hall in Brussels. The men aged between 15 and 17 were arrested on Monday morning by the French security agency the DGSI. The investigation revealed that all three had interacted in a social network group exchanging jihadist propaganda and discussing plans for an attack.
Paris Olympics – Meanwhile, France’s Interior Minister has announced the security arrangements for the Paris Olympics. It was on Tuesday March 5th, that Gerald Darmanin gave details for the opening ceremony, the closure of airspace, the number of spectators and the parade on the river Seine. Indeed, airspace will be closed from 7pm within a 150km radius around the French capital for the opening ceremony on July 26th, which means that all airports in the Ile-de-France and neighbouring regions (Roissy, Orly, Le Bourget or even Beauvais) will be closed. The number of spectators able to attend the river parade of the opening ceremony has been set at 326,000 and a fleet of 180 boats will participate.
Product recall - Superior cooked ham from the Casino “Tous les jours” brand is being recalled throughout France due to potential contamination with a cleaning product. It is recommended not to consume it and to return it to the point of sale for a refund. The packet of six slices of superior cooked ham (270g) is subject to a product recall. The affected batch is 1240180, GTIN 3700311820676, with a best before date of March 12th. The product was on sale between February 13th and 29th in Casino, Vival and Spar stores throughout France. The brand's consumer service can be reached on 08 00 13 30 16.
Local
Accident - The driver of a car which killed a Vinci Autoroute patrolman on Sunday has had their police custody extended. Tests showed that the driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time. However, investigators say cameras show the car driving at excessive speed in particularly bad weather on Sunday lunchtime. The Nice Prosecutor intends to file charges against the driver for involuntary manslaughter. The dead man was named as 54 year old Tony Nellec, from Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Weather - Meteo France has warned of another “Mediterranean episode” expected this weekend in our region. Last weekend saw the Alpes Maritimes and the Var placed on a yellow weather alert with a record amount of rainfall and considerable damage caused by strong winds. While it is too early to identify the “intensity” of the bad weather forecast for the weekend, Meteo France has announced that it is closely monitoring the situation with a more comprehensive report expected by this evening.
Family trapped by snow are evacuated to safety - A father and his three children have spent two nights trapped by snow at an altitude of 2,000 meters in the Tinée. Mountain rescue services evacuated the family by helicopter on Monday. On Saturday, this father from Nice went up with his children, aged 12 to 18, above the Granges de la Braque, between Utelle and la Tour-sur-Tinée. 80 centimetres of snow fell during the night preventing them from leaving. They were thankfully well equipped to face negative temperatures. Rescue services have warned that a with a new Mediterranean episode announced for next weekend. It is absolutely necessary to check weather reports before setting off.
Group of young people rescued in the Alpes de Haute Provence – Meanwhile, a group of young people may just think twice before adventuring back into the heights of the Alpes de Haute Provence after being rescued on Monday. The eight young men in their twenties left on Sunday morning planning to set up a temporary camp near Lake Allos. However, after being caught in a snowstorm, they become stranded. Badly equipped for the weather conditions and lacking in experience the group did manage to send an SOS using their smartphone. Due to poor weather conditions a helicopter intervention was not possible, so police sent a doctor and two soldiers, on foot, to join the group. After 4 hours, covering 5 km and 500 meters under heavy snowfall group were finally found at around 7pm. Escorted to a nearby refuge for the night before returning home the next day, the high mountain rescue specialist points out that "the local environment is different in the winter compared to the summer and that "people must know their limits and be well prepared, taking into account the weather, but also the snow conditions and isolation."
Seasonal job fair - With around a hundred positions to fill, the SBM is opening up opportunities for its summer recruitment today Wednesday March 6th, at the One Monte-Carlo. The Société des Bains de Mer is hiring seasonal workers for next summer. Candidates will be greeted, by a member of the Human Resources team before being redirected to managers who may be interested in their profiles. As summer approaches, the Société des Bains de Mer is strengthening its team with a thousand employees for the summer period stretching from the beginning of April to the end of October. To achieve this, two recruitment days one at the end of the season, traditionally in October, and one a few months later, in March, are being organised. Today, a little over thirty department heads and human resources staff from the SBM will be mobilized at One Monte-Carlo to welcome the public, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Business
Meta says it has resolved a "technical issue" which caused Facebook, Messenger and Instagram to go down on Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of users worldwide were unable to access them for around two hours. People trying to log onto the websites and apps were finding error messages and were unable to refresh their feeds as normal. Meta also apologised to those who had been affected, saying it resolved the problem as quickly as it could.
The price of the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, briefly hit a new all-time high of more than $69,000. It surpassed the previous record set in November 2021 - though by 2022 Bitcoin's value had sunk to $16,500. The new surge in price has been spurred by US finance giants pouring billions into buying bitcoins.
And – According to research firm Counterpoint sales in China of Apple's iPhone fell by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to a year earlier. It comes as the US technology giant is facing fierce competition in the country from local rivals.
Sport
Football – In Women’s football holders England have been drawn in a tough group with the Republic of Ireland, France and Sweden in Group A3 of Women's Euro 2025 qualifying. Scotland will face Serbia, Slovakia and Israel in Group B2, while Northern Ireland are alongside Portugal, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Malta in Group B3. Wales have been drawn against Croatia, Ukraine and Kosovo in Group B4. The qualifiers will take place between April and July, with the tournament scheduled for July 2025 in Switzerland.
Cricket – Ben Stokes says his England team have "massively evolved" on the tour of India, despite losing the series. England are 3-1 down going into the fifth Test which starts tomorrow.
Cycling - Cycling's world governing body will review time trial helmet designs after issuing a ban on a 'head sock' element. The UCI says it wants to ensure radical designs do not compromise safety. The 'head sock' is a built-in balaclava attached to helmets which is designed by American company Specialized.
Weather
Cloudy to begin with giving way to sunshine, with highs of 15 degrees in Nice, 13 degrees in Monaco and Marseille. Strong winds and highs of 15 degrees in Saint Tropez. This evening going down to 5 degrees along the coast with clear skies.
The outlook for Thursday fine with highs of 15 degrees. Friday heavy rain is forecast.
Sunrise 06.57am
Sunset 06.25pm
Sea temperature
Monaco 13.8°
Weather elsewhere
Milan 13° light rain
Oslo 2° sunny intervals.
Belfast 11° sunny intervals
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
Read More
Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
Read More
Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
Read More
French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
Read More
France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
Read More
