Lunchtime News Friday July 9th 2021

Cannes 2021- There are two competition films today.

“La Fracture” or “The Divide” from the French director Catherine Corsini stars Pio Marmai and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi as a couple on the verge of a break up who find themselves in a hospital emergency department as a huge demonstration is taking place in Paris.

Meanwhile ,Paul Verhoeven’s biographical drama “Benedetta” stars Virginie Efira as a novice 17th century nun who joins an Italian convent and starts a love affair with another woman.Charlotte Rampling and Lambert Wilson also feature.

Both films are in French with English subtitles.

Paris Speed limits-The speed limit in the entire Paris region is soon to be reduced to 30 km/h according to an assistant to Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

David Belliard says that the decision has been taken to “reduce the impact of motorised vehicles” in the French capital.

The new restrictions will start coming into force from the beginning of 2022.

While it sounds like an environmental “win-win” ,60 percent of roads in Paris already have a speed restriction of 30 and the average speed of traffic is just 16 km/h.

Accident investigation- An initial investigation into the terrible accident on the A8 motorway on Wednesday in which a 68 year old woman died and 9 others were seriously injured is pointing to a punctured tyre on the truck which caused the crash.

The accident happened on Wednesday shortly after lunchtime when a truck careered over the central reservation near les Adrets and ploughed into 5 cars on the other side of the road.

Photographs from the scene published on Thursday show absolute carnage.

Police think that the truck suffered a punctured tyre leading the driver to lose control of the vehicle but other hypotheses are also being considered.

Monaco E-Prix-Good news for motorsport fans.The Monaco E-Prix is to become an annual event from next year.

Until now ,the E-Prix has been staged on alternate years in the Principality but from 2022 it will be every year.

Next year’s event will be held on Saturday the 30th of April following agreement with the FIA.

Boom-Boom shake the room ! -Nightclubs in Monaco will be authorised to re-open this coming Saturday if you want to shake your stuff !

The decision to re-open nightclubs and allow more musical entertainment in bars and restaurants was taken following a meeting of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II and the Minister of State Pierre Dartout on Thursday.

People who want a night out must reserve and produce a valid health pass proving double vaccination.

The Monaco government says that it won’t hesitate to reverse the decision should the coronavirus situation deteriorate again.

There have been some cases of the fast-spreading delta variant picked up in the Principality.