Lunchtime News.Thursday July 30th 2020.

Heatwave- Six French departments are on a heatwave alert from today until Saturday with temperatures forecast to rise to 40 degrees in some places.

The worst affected areas are expected to be the Drome ,Isere ,Rhone ,Savoie and Haut Savoie with Meteo France forecasting temperatures of between 34 and 39 degrees.

Marseilles is forecast to experience a temperature of 35 degrees this afternoon with the extremely hot weather lasting until Sunday when cooler conditions are expected to move across the country.

The south-east will be largely spared the heatwave although some inland areas of the Var could reach 38 degrees tomorrow afternoon. Coastal areas should remain relatively cool with highs of 29-32 degrees.

Drowning death-A 90 year old man has died from drowning while bathing off the Monaco Beach at Le Pradet in the Var.

Emergency services were unable to revive the victim who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities urge the public to take precautions while swimming especially those of advancing years.

There have already been a number of deaths from drowning up and down the coast this summer.Most of the victims were elderly.

Power cuts- Residents and businesses in the centre of Antibes have been left without power this morning for an as yet unknown reason.

The power company Enedis says that it working on the problem and expects to have all services reconnected by lunchtime.

The power cut has affected pretty much the whole of the centre of the town and could have been caused by a problem at a local sub-station but it’s not exactly clear.

Out of order-People wishing to visit the Chateau in Nice will have to hoof it up the steps until further notice as the lift has broken down.

There are complaints that the problem occurs several times a year and local residents have suggested that a free bus shuttle is organised as a replacement.

On the plus side ,if people walk up they’ll be able to see the Tour Bellanda where Hector Berlioz composed some of his most famous works.

In National News.

Losses-Airbus has announced a net loss of 1.9 billion euros for the first 6 months of 2020 as delivery of new aircraft dwindled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm delivered just 196 new planes between January and June and said that the impact of Covid-19 was now “very visible” in the second quarter.

Revenue fell by 39 percent to 18.9 billion euros and the firm says that it is cutting production by 40 percent.

Macron-The popularity of President Macron has risen by 6 points in July to reach the 50 percent mark.

A Harris poll for LCI television showed that half of those surveyed are confident in Mr Macron’s policies for France.

It’s only the second time since April 2018 that the President’s approval rating has reached 50 percent.

The new French Prime Minister Jean Castex has an approval rating of 56 percent ,higher than the 51 percent rating for his predecessor Edouard Philippe.

Political analysts say that the main reason for Mr Macron’s improved popularity is down to the deal he struck with other European leaders on an economic recovery package as well as the recent government reshuffle.