Lunchtime News Thursday 11th June 2020

Nursery schools in Marseille reopen - The city of Marseille has reopened nursery schools for the first time since measures of the lockdown, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, were lifted. The reopening comes later than others after parents took legal action against the town hall which had originally wished not to reopen schools to the younger pupils until September.

Residents and shopkeepers call for cycling lanes to be removed - Residents and shopkeepers have gathered in Nice protesting against new cycling lanes introduced by the local council during lockdown.

Around 40 residents and shopkeepers gathered on the Boulevard Gambetta on Wednesday, claiming that due to the new cycling facilities, there was an increase in traffic, accidents,  noise and a lack of parking facilities in the area.

Borders - The European Union has said that it hoped to reopen its external borders to foreigners in July. Europe has suffered devastating human losses from the pandemic, accounting for just under half of the 411,000 lives claimed by Covid-19 across the world.

The world economy is on course to contract by at least six percent this year due to virus shutdowns.

EU member states have the final say on border measures. But Brussels is suggesting a "gradual and partial" reopening of external frontiers to travellers outside of the bloc from July 1st.

Meanwhile Greece has already announced it will reopen its skies from June 15th to a list of countries including non-EU states such as Australia, China and South Korea.

World’s largest digital arts centre - A colossal concrete bunker that was once a submarine base for Nazi U-boats in the Second World War has been given a new lease of life as the world’s largest digital arts centre. Called Bassins de Lumières, the vast gallery, in Bordeaux in the south of France opened its doors to the public on Wednesday.