News
Swimmer found dead at La Reserve beach in Nice - A 76-year-old swimmer has been found dead in the sea at Reserve beach in Nice. The man was declared dead by emergency services on Monday at around 1:30pm. Witnesses reportedly lifted the lifeless swimmer from the water. The cause of death is yet to be determined.
Travel from Monaco to France - As part of France’s new border regulations in the fight against the spread of Covid-19, people of Monegasque nationality and foreign residents of the Principality can still travel to France between 6am and 6pm, within a radius of 30 kilometers from your home for trips lasting less than 24 hours. Any trip further than the 30km radius and longer than 24 hours must be in possession of a justification - can be download at https://media.interieur.gouv.fr/attestation-couvre-feu-covid-19/ and a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours. Those exempt from this obligation are cross-border workers and truck drivers. This therefore means that a resident of the Principality wishing to go beyond 30km from his home (for example to Auron or Valberg for the weekend) will have to in the event of a control, present a negative result of a PCR test of less than 72 hours along with justification of a compelling nature.
Meanwhile in the Principality there is a curfew in place from 7pm to 6am. Exemption from the curfew is for professional, medical, family reasons, or to take pets out for a short time. Restaurants are only open for lunch and are closed for dinner. Take-out is allowed until 7pm. Delivery services are authorized until 9pm. Access to restaurants for lunch will be limited to people who have proof of residency or work in Monaco. Reservations are an obligation in restaurants and tables are restricted to 6 maximum.
Wearing a mask is compulsory throughout public spaces, as well as in all enclosed places open to the public and common areas of private spaces. The obligation to wear a mask does not apply to children under 5 years old and to people practicing outdoor sports. However, they must have a mask in their pocket if necessary. Sports halls, swimming pools, jacuzzi, steam rooms and saunas are closed. Indoor sports are prohibited, including school sports. Private sports lessons with a coach are allowed.
Teleworking is highly recommended in the private and public sector. Public services remain open. Businesses are open respecting the curfew hours. Banks, construction sites and businesses continue to operate. Establishments are open to the public within the curfew hours such as Museums and Exhibition halls and hotel establishments are open.
300,000 fraudulent claims to solidarity fund - France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has this morning indicated on French media that there are possibly 300,000 fraudulent claims amongst those submitted to the government’s solidarity fund. The fund was set up to assist French companies financially throughout the Covid crisis.
Covid - France’s education minister has announced that from today it will take just one pupil of a nursery school to test positive for a class to close with other students in the class being considered as contact cases. Up until now it took three pupils to test positive before a class was closed. However this measure in reality is difficult to apply as testing on such young pupils is still not carried out in mass.
Results show that the circulation of Covid variants in the French capital are not “good news” according to Professor Salomon - Meanwhile according to Professor Rémi Salomon, president of the AP-HP medical committee, variants of Covid currently represent 15 to 20% of new cases detected in the French capital. Speaking to French media this morning the doctor has expressed his concern about the "very intense circulation of the virus".
The first results in the Paris region of the survey intended to assess the presence of the more contagious variants of the coronavirus in France "are not good", said Rémi Salomon who went on to insist that the British variant "will become dominant in the next 15 days " which is why he believes that "it would be a mistake to wait three weeks to see the effects of the measures which were taken at the beginning of the week” which in his view “will probably not be enough".
Salomon went on to say that "Even if we have the impression that (the epidemic curve) is settling a bit, it is false sense of security as there is an upcoming intense circulation of the virus”. To stem the spread of the virus, Professor Rémi Salomon also believes that confining the elderly or those at risk would not be effective: "We would have an explosion of the epidemic and we would have people in intensive care a little younger". On the other hand, the doctor pleads for an extension of the school holidays. "It would be reasonable to close schools for three weeks" he explained. Then reopen them, so as not to "widen the inequalities" and avoid "dramatic consequences".
Shuttle service - Those wishing to travel from Ventimiglia to Monaco will soon be able to do it using a high speed sea shuttle service. The water shuttle which is currently undergoing sea trials will carry a maximum of 12 passengers. The AV2 High Speed shuttle a 12 metre catamaran was designed and built in La Rochelle and has a top speed of more than 40 knots. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of February with an official inauguration in the summer allowing passengers to make the journey in just 15 minutes.
Flights planed from Toulon Hyeres to Paris, Nantes and Brittany - The lowcost airline subsidiary of Air France Transavia airlines has announced that it plans new destinations from Toulon Hyeres airport in the Var, to Paris, Nantes and Brittany, with tickets starting at 39 euors one way. From March 28th the line will open to Paris with three flights a day, all year round, while a month later there will be two weekly flights to Brittany and Nantes available from April until October.
31 year old British man sentenced for entering Eurotunnel on foot - A 31 year old British man has been sentenced to six months in prison in Boulogne sur mer for entering the Channel tunnel on foot. The incident occurred on December 21st last year when the man entered the tunnel at Folkestone on foot heading towards France and forcing the Eurotunnel to halt all traffic. He has been charged for interrupting traffic and causing damage estimated at 50,000 euros by Eurotunnel. In court on Monday the homeless man, already convicted in England for fifty offenses had just come out of jail, he only admitted to being born in Manchester in 1989.
A new optional regional transport tax for businesses, introduced in France’s 2025 budget, aims to fund eco-friendly mobility projects. ...
Read More
A judge has authorised a dive to inspect the wreckage of a plane in the sea off Antibes. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean on September 11 1968...
Read More
In France, drinking water is heavily contaminated with "forever pollutants," particularly trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), as revealed by two studies from ...
Read More
The trial of the Tunisian man accused of the murder of three people in the Nice Basilica attack is continuing in Paris. Yesterday the families of the ...
Read More
Four cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region made Booking.com's 2025 list of the "most welcoming destinations in France." ...
Read More
