Lunchtime News Monday 8th June 2020

Weather warning - Météo France has placed the Alpes Maritimes on a yellow weather warning with showers and thunderstorms forecast. The warning is in place from midday to 6pm.

Shooting in Ajaccio - Two men have been injured in a shooting in Ajaccio in Corsica. The shooting occurred at 10pm on Sunday evening. The men in their thirties and forties were shot and one of the two was seriously injured.

The two victims were on a restaurant terrace at the time of the shooting.  An investigation has been opened by police.

Unemployment - The health crisis has caused an unprecedented rise in unemployment in France. On a national level there were 843,000 more job seekers in April. Figures for the Alpes Maritimes show that there are 90,850 job seekers, an increase of 24.4% over one month, 41.5% over three months, and 33.4% over a year.

Survey - A survey published today in France has shown some positive results from the lockdown on people’s health. According to the results French people improved their health during lockdown cutting down on alcohol, fatty foods, sugar and smoking.

The number of people drinking regularly fell from 57 to 51% after lockdown. The share of French people consuming fatty or sweet products also fell from 79 to 76% and the number of regular and occasional smokers dropped from 27 to 23%

Research - A €5 billion scheme submitted by France to support research and development in combating the coronavirus has been approved by the European Commission.

The 5 billion package, which may be funded in part by the European Union, will allow France to scale up testing and the production of coronavirus related products such as medicines, vaccines and protective clothing.

The EU has already approved state aid for coronavirus-related research for countries such as Ireland and Italy.

Under the French “umbrella” scheme, the government, regional and local authorities will be able to provide support to companies of all sizes who carry out research and development projects.

Travel - European travelers will be able to jet off to the sun again by the end of this month after EU leaders agreed to reopen their internal borders that were shut to stop the coronavirus. 

The travel ban, in place since 17 March, was due to expire on 15 June and has now been extended until 1 July.

Some European governments have already begun reopening their borders to selected neighbors. Britons however are facing tough checks when arriving in countries such as France and Spain, where they face a two-week quarantine. This is in part a reciprocal measure matching the UK’s two-week isolation period imposed on foreign visitors.