Lunchtime News.Thursday July 2nd 2020

Weather alert-The Alpes Maritimes and the Var have been placed on a yellow weather alert for storms.

Meteo France says that most of the bad weather is expected to be inland but there could be some thunder in coastal areas this afternoon.

The alert is in force until 9pm tonight.

Voie Rapide accident-Investigations are underway into the cause of a serious accident on the Voie Rapide in Nice in the early hours of this morning.

Reports say that a female driver crashed her vehicle at high speed into the central reservation near the Magnan exit at around 1.30am.

Emergency services rushed to the scene where they found the woman in a critical condition.She’s receiving treatment at the Pasteur 2 hospital.

The road was closed for a time between Saint-Augustin and Magnan while the wrecked car was cleared away.

Trip advisor- A restaurant near Draguignan in the Var is taking legal action against Trip Advisor following a series of negative views.

Reviews which paint the Malycan Italian restaurant in a bad light have been viewed more than 3.7 million times on the internet which the restaurant owner says is unacceptable.

Rocks off-The pebbles on beaches along the promenade des Anglais in Nice have been levelled off after a number of bathers complained that they’ve been forced to come out of the water on “all fours”.

Municipal authorities have been short of time to prepare the beaches for the summer because of the coronavirus lockdown but a bulldozer has now been up and down the coast to put things right.

Maintenance work will now be carried out daily from 5-11am to ensure maximum comfort for all.

Snakes-The Nice Matin newspaper carries a handy guide to snakes that you may find in your garden this summer.

All species of snake found in France are protected and there are 10 different varieties commonly found in the south of France.

Most are completely harmless but vipers will bite if provoked or stepped on.

You can read all about snakes here.

https://www.nicematin.com/environnement/tous-ces-serpents-venimeux-ou-non-que-vous-pouvez-croiser-dans-votre-jardin-534658

In National News.

Disco inferno-French discotheques and nightclubs will be allowed to open again from the 11th of July as the coronavirus crisis continues to ease.

The French economy ministry has been listening to the concerns of owners of nightclubs and has agreed that venues can re-open as long as hygiene measures are put in place and social distancing maintained.

Face Masks-The government is to instruct businesses across the country to make sure that they have 10 week  stocks of face masks available for workers and visitors as part of prevention measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The French Health Minister Olivier Veran says the measure is necessary especially in case there’s a second wave of infections or local spikes of the disease.

French health authorities said earlier this week that while the virus is still circulating ,infection rates are very low but warned the public not to relax and to keep up with hygiene measures including wearing masks where obligatory or advisable.