National News France
French President Emmanuel Macron expresses the importance of support from both parents in a new plan for absent fathers - In an interview with Elle magazine the French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed plans to consider “a duty to visit” for fathers who are absent. The Head of State said that he believes that both parents must “exercise their responsibilities” with regard to their child or children, adding that “it is a duty to be a parent, a duty that does not end at the moment of divorce or separation.” Macron went on to suggest idea of an “obligation to visit” from absent fathers rather than a “right of visit”. Describing it as “a duty of support” which should last at least until adulthood. The President of the Republic emphasized that 85% of single parent families in France, or 1.7 million, are raised by women. He concluded that “a child who never sees his father is a child who feels abandoned, a child whose emotional and educational development is not the same”.
Olympic flame arrives in Marseille today – Meanwhile, Macron will be in Marseille today, Wednesday 8th May, to mark the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic flame. The head of state will attend a ceremony in the old port ahead of the torch relay which, until July 26th, will see the flame pass through 450 cities in mainland France and overseas. Macron will be joined by several members of the French government including the France’s minister of the interior and sports minister.
Local News
Contamination of drinking water in La Colle sur loup extends to parts of Saint Paul de Vence - The contamination of drinking water in La Colle sur Loup has extended to parts of Saint Paul de Vence. The Region’s health agency announced on Tuesday that following cases of cryptosporidiosis. Residents on boulevard Sauvaigo, chemin Défoussat, chemin de la Rougiere, de l’impasse St Etienne et chemin St-Etienne are now concerned. The Town Hall has been taking the necessary precautions to avoid contamination however, so far 21 people have been taken ill in La Colle. The latest on the town halls facebook page suggests that the contamination could be due "to the presence of a herd of 350 sheep that remained grazing for almost a month in the vicinity and that heavy rains in March favoured the parasite in nearby waters". The authorities say that as a reminded those in the affected areas should for drinking water, making ice, washing teeth, preparing food, and washing raw vegetables, consume bottled water or boil tap water for 5 minutes before consuming it. For other uses such as washing and laundry, tap water can be used. As the germ is transmissible, it is also recommended that all people who are sick or in contact with sick people apply the strictest hygiene measures such as regularly washing their hands.
Earth tremors - Two earth tremors have been felt in our region both occurring at around the same time on Monday. The first had a magnitude of 2.1 and its epicentre was situated not far from Imperia over the border in Italy and was felt in Menton, Monaco and Eze while the second an hour earlier was recorded at sea between Monaco and Corsica with a smaller magnitude of 1.6.
Cannes Film Festival - French actress Judith Godrèche will present a short film at this year’s 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival entitled “moi aussi”. According to a press release the film brings to the centre stage readings from victims of sexual violence.
Weather warning - A yellow weather alert has been issued for this afternoon for our region with thunderstorms forecast. Storms are expected to affect mainly inland with the coastline being spared. It’s in place from 2pm to 8pm.
Business
In a joint statement published on Tuesday the Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron have reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a political settlement of the Iran nuclear issue. The leaders also called for the "concrete implementation" of a two-state solution in Israel and "condemned" Israel's policy of settlement-building in the West Bank. The Chinese President was on a two-day visit to France as part of his first trip in five years to Europe.
The French government has announced that the CEO of the SNCF, France’s rail network, Jean-Pierre Farandou will be replaced after the Paris Olympics. Farandou has been at the head of the railway company since the end of 2019. The decision comes after the signing of an agreement on the end of employment contracts for SNCF employees which had been strongly criticised by France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire and seen by the French government as a way around the new pension reform implemented last year. Signed on April 22nd by the four representative unions of the SNCF, the text will allow railway workers to cease their activity before retirement, with more than a year not worked and paid at 75% depending on the position.
In a plan which still needs to be approved by a US bankruptcy court collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has billions of dollars more than it needs to repay customers. The firm says that it will have as much as $16.3bn (£13bn) to cover the debts, which stand at around $11bn. The company's new reorganisation plan says almost all of its customers will get at least the total amount they lost when FTX collapsed in November 2022.
And - Social media platform TikTok has filed a lawsuit aiming to block a US law that would ban the video app in the country unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company. In the filing, the social media company called the act an "extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights" of the company and its 170 million American users. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law last month, citing that it was justified due to national security concerns.
Sport
Football – It was a disappointing night for Paris Saint Germain after they were beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund who are one game away from becoming European champions for the second time in their history.
This evening in the other semi-finals Real Madrid play Bayern München kick off is at 9pm French time.
In other football news Diego Maradona's "stolen" Golden Ball trophy, awarded for being named the best player at the 1986 World Cup, has been found and will be auctioned off in France on 6 June.
Weather
Fine to start with highs of 19 degrees in Nice, Monaco and Cannes. There is a yellow weather alert with storms forecast from this afternoon which is expected to mainly affect inland the warning is in place from 2pm until 8pm. This evening going down to 13 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow and Friday fine and sunny highs of 23 degrees.
Sunrise 06.12am
Sunset 08.41pm
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