French and Riviera News Wednesday 9th November 2022

News

French President proposes a decarbonization pact to industrialists - French President Emmanuel Macron has promised the leaders of the fifty most CO2-emitting French industrial sites a doubling of public aid to 10 billion euros in exchange for a doubling of their efforts to fight against greenhouse gas emissions. The Head of State made the announcement as he met with industrialists gathered at the Elysée on Tuesday. Macron went on to say that to achieve this goal the government would also carry out a precise six-month planning "sector by sector". Emmanuel Macron insisted on his desire to accelerate the fight against climate change, after a first five-year term considered too “timid” by environmental specialists. But also, to reindustrialize.

Strike action – Meanwhile, many sectors are set to be disrupted by tomorrow’s national strike action in France. Transport, health and education are all expected to be affected, in particular transport, as unions call for action on wages and pensions. Unions say that the turnout is expected to be greater than the previous day of strike action on October 27th.

Suspect released - A 60-year-old man suspected of attempting to kidnap two schoolgirls in Saint-Martin-du-Var has been released by the police. On September 16th the two girls were approached by the driver of a white Twingo in Saint-Martin-du-Var. The suspect confessed and then denied his actions and was acquitted with the benefit of the doubt.

Air France warns of competition scam on WhatsApp - Air France has warned of a scam circulating on WhatsApp inviting users to participate in a competition organised by the airline. Under the pretext of Black Friday, the message invites recipients to answer a few basic questions such as "Do you know Air France?" before choosing a gift box to try to win tickets. After choosing your gift box, no big surprise: everyone is a winner. A new page full of confetti appears telling the user that they have won his two plane tickets for a trip to Europe. This where the scam appears: to obtain the tickets, the player must share this exceptional promotion with 5 groups or 20 friends. The Internet user is also invited to enter his address, still on a fake site, in no way related to Air France. The airline reacted on Twitter, explaining that it was not at the origin of this fake competition and invites its customers to be vigilant.

New association in the fight against addiction - Backed by the town council of Cogolin in the Var, a doctor and a sports coach have created the association ‘Home Sweet Home’ in the fight against addiction. The association has set up hotlines to offer help in the fight against addiction and for more information you can go to their Facebook page ‘Home Sweet Home’.

No Finish Line - This year’s edition of the 23rd No Finish Line here in Monaco is aiming for 400,000 km. For the first time since 2019, the No Finish Line will take place from November 12th to 20th in Fontvieille. Organizers are waiting for the mass return of runners, with proceeds going to sick and disadvantaged children.

Dolphin in the port of Sanary - A dolphin has been spotted in the port of Sanary in the Var. First seen by a passer-by on Tuesday morning at around 8.30am the dolphin was still present in the afternoon despite attempts by coastal rescue firefighters to encourage it to return to the open sea.

Route de Sel closed to traffic - As every winter the Route de Sel in Hyeres in the Var has closed to traffic. From now and for several months’ walkers, cyclists’ runners and others can enjoy the area which in summer months is particularly busy due to the increase in traffic. The reopening of the Route de Sel is scheduled for the Easter holidays.

End of an era for hardware store in Antibes - A family hardware store in Antibes is set to close its doors. Created in 1930, managed by three generations and a familiar site on the Rue Aubernon the store which began its story in the thirties will be closing at the end of the month.

Business

Less than two weeks after Elon Musk completed his $44bn takeover of Twitter the world’s richest man and Tesla boss has sold another 19.5 million shares of the electric car maker worth $3.95bn (£3.4bn). Tesla's share price has fallen by more than 50% since the start of this year. Separately, Tesla is recalling just over 40,000 of its vehicles in the US because of a potential problem with their power-steering. The latest sale brings the total value of Tesla shares sold by Mr Musk to almost $20bn since he announced earlier this year that he had bought a stake in Twitter.

Disney's streaming business has continued to grow - but its losses are rising too. The media giant said it had added more than 12 million subscribers to its Disney+ streaming platform in