Lunchtime News Thursday 13th January 2022

News

Mayor of Nice announces free covid tests - The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has announced this morning on French television that he has ordered 90,000 self-covid tests which "will be delivered this week" and distributed to families in the city. Estrosi went on to say that "two free test will be given per family from today Thursday 13th January and that from Sunday January 16th children will be able to be tested at the city's vaccinodrome.

Monaco – 126 new cases of covid have been identified in Monaco on Wednesday 12th January, bringing the total number of residents affected to 6,266. Twenty eight people are currently in hospital and 302 are being followed by the Home Monitoring Centre.

Travel for British citizens - Meanwhile France's Minister of Tourism and SMEs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne has announced an easing of health travel restrictions for British citizens. Speaking to French media the minister said that "people coming from the UK who are vaccinated will no longer have to produce a compelling reason as well as an end to the 48-hour isolation period for vaccinated individuals, adding that France "will simply ask them to produce a PCR test of less than 24 hours".

The decision was confirmed by Prime Minister Jean Castex in a press release. "For vaccinated travellers, there will no longer be an obligation to justify a compelling reason to come to France, nor an obligation to respect a period of isolation on arrival on the national territory, for unvaccinated travellers, travel to or from the UK will be allowed subject to being able to prove a compelling reason valid for 'red' countries. Unvaccinated travellers must continue to check in, prior to departure, on the digital platform "eOS passenger https://passager.serveureos.org allowing them in particular, to enter the address of where they are staying in France.

Finally, it should be noted that "all travellers, vaccinated or not, will have to present at the start of their journey a negative PCR or antigenic test of less than 24 hours."

The changes are to be introduced from tomorrow Friday 14th January.

Air pollution alert for the Var - According to AtmoSud, an air quality observatory in the PACA region, an episode of fine particle pollution will be present in the Var region from today Thursday, January 13th, and it could last for four days, until Sunday 16th. Several sources of pollution are at the origin of the increase in fine particles from road traffic, despite teleworking, industries and heating.

French Prime Minister in Toulon this weekend - French Prime Minister Jean Castex will be in Toulon in the Var this Saturday 15th January to relaunch a contract on ecological recovery and transition (CRTE). The last contract of this kind was signed a year ago in Nice.

Minister of Justice - France's Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti has been summoned on 28th February by the Court of Justice of the Republic. He is suspected of having used his status to settle accounts with certain magistrates. The Court of Justice of the Republic is also examining the administrative investigation against Judge Edouard Levrault, specialized in the fight against corruption in the south of France and whom Eric Dupond-Moretti had described as a "cowboy".

Mayor of Hyères claims facebook page was hacked after intimate photo - The mayor of Hyères in the Var has claimed that his Facebook page was hacked after his profile picture was changed to a photo of him naked in a bathroom. Jean-Pierre Giran told reporters that he was left "shocked" by the incident "which is was a first in thirty years of being an elected official".

Nice celebrates the French Presidency of the European Union - France has taken over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from the 1st January to 30th June 2022 and the City of Nice is offering the people of Nice an action programme from January to June 2022. The programme is made up of more than 60 events. For 6 months, debates, concerts, competitions, cultural, sporting and fun events will take place to inform and exchange on the role of the European Union, the fight against Euroscepticism and to promote active European citizenship. The next event coming up is January 18th and the "Launch of the Nice edition of the Europorters" a reporting competition for young European citizens open until March 1st 2022. For more information on this event and the full programme go to Nice celebrates the French Presidency of the European Union

2022 season of the Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation - The Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation has unveiled its 2022 conference season as part of its ongoing commitment to art, culture and history. Throughout the year events are taking place here in the Principality and details can be found at Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco

The Prince Pierre Foundation was established on February 17th, 1966, by HSH Prince Rainier III, in homage to the memory of his father, Prince Pierre, a great patron of literature and the arts. The Foundation aims to promote contemporary art and is today chaired by HRH Princess of Hanover. Each year, HSH The Sovereign Prince presents prizes on the proposal of three councils, literary, musical and artistic, composed of internationally renowned figures.  

 

 

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