Lunchtime News Monday 17th May 2021

News 

French laboratory published positive results for vaccine - The French laboratory Sanofi has published positive results from a clinical trial on its main candidate vaccine against Covid, developed with the British GSK. In a press release the laboratory said that trials had shown a high concentration of neutralizing antibodies in adults of all age groups.

VIP-Room Saint tropez calls for nightclubs to reopen - The owner of the VIP-Room in Saint-Tropez Jean-Roch has called for the reopening of nightclubs, so as not to leave young people "on their own". His call has been supported by many regional mayors along the coast who also request the reopening for the end of June adding that it would avoid “wild parties on the beaches” which would in their view undoubtedly lead to accidents.

Will the sun be shining as France reopens terraces - Outside eating and drinking areas across France can reopen on Wednesday 19th May after being closed for more than six months but for most of the country the forecast looks rather wet. According to Météo-France rain is expected for most of the country, with the exception of the Mediterranean coast, where there will be some sunny spells. In the south the temperature will be relatively mild and iare expected to be around 20C in Nice and around 17C in Marseille and Perpignan. 

In other news 

French fishermen - French fishermen have regained rights in Jersey, with boats able to return temporarily to the islands waters pending further talks. In an attempt to calm tensions over fishing rights Jersey officials have allowed French boats to continue fishing as usual until July 1st. Earlier this month saw clashes after only 41 boats out of 344 were issued licences under the new post-Brexit regime.

Mayor of Paris to ban traffic - The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has unveiled a plan which would see traffic drastically reduced in the heart of the French capital from next year. The plan would see the ban of most vehicles from the centre of the city.

Strike action – The SNCF of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur has announced strike action tomorrow Tuesday 18th May. Unions are against the introduction of cameras to replace controllers. They claim that over the last year the absence of controllers, (who effectively assist with the departure of trains and are there to help if an incident occurs during the journey) is resulting in drivers having to take on these responsibilities. They are also against the reduction in station managers normally present in Menton, Nice city, Antibes, Cannes and Saint-Raphaël, who are now only present in Ventimiglia.

Meanwhile the regional postal service has also announced strike action tomorrow in protest against job cuts. A rally is scheduled at 10 am, in front of the direction of La Poste, avenue Thiers, in Nice.

France urged to have more children - The French centrist leader François Bayrou has urged people to “have more children”, warning the future demographic of French society was no longer assured following the biggest birth rate drop in 45 years. Bayrou, a former justice minister was appointed in September 2020 as the chief of "le Plan" for the France of tomorrow, a "national pact for demography” that included controlled immigration. Bayrou went on to say that “the damage to the birth curve done by Covid-19 was a problem that needed solving”. 

 

 

 

 

 

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