Lunchtime News Wednesday 11th August 2021

News

French President warns that the health crisis “is not behind us” - French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that “the health crisis is not behind us and will last for several more months”. Macron issued the warning ahead of today’s Health Defense Council dedicated to the Covid-19 epidemic as which the Head of State is expected to address several urgent points.

Emmanuel Macron in particular mentioned the dramatic situation in Martinique, where a new strict lockdown has been put in place, and in Guadeloupe, where the measure will also be implemented. Medical reinforcements arrived overnight, with 231 caregivers and 70 firefighters taking off from Paris for the two islands.

The Council will also examine the disputed implementation of the extended health pass, currently in "running-in week".

In other news

Yacht catches fire in Port Cros - A 30-meter yacht has caught fire off Port Cros in the Var. Ten people were evacuated. There are no causalities. The fire started around 4:30am this morning. Rescue services evacuated six passengers and four crew members.

About twenty people from the SNSM, marine firefighters, SDIS firefighters as well as the high seas patroller were mobilised as the Mediterranean maritime prefecture advised boats to keep a distance. At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, the fire was still in progress.

Fire risk - The Alpes Maritimes and the Var are both on alert due to the high fire risk and high temperatures. After a mild July and dry conditions firefighters in both regions are stepping up controls and their presence in high risk areas.

Physical activity in French schools - France’s Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer has said that sports practice was lacking in French schools compared to other countries, especially for young people. This observation is shared by the World Health Organization, which ranks France 119th out of 146 countries in the world for physical activity within schools.

According to research, 87% of French adolescents aged 11 to 17 had a daily physical activity time of less than an hour in 2016, compared to 81% globally. Among adolescent girls, this rate even rises to 91.8%. And the situation in the country has worsened: in the last fifteen years, the proportion of underactive adolescents has increased by almost a point.

France is thus a champion of physical inactivity, far behind the United States or countries of the South such as India, Bangladesh or Benin. Among Western countries, only Italy, Australia and New Zealand do less well than France.

French equivalent of MOT to become mandatory for motorized two-wheelers from 2023 - MOT’s are to become compulsory from 2023 for motorized two-wheelers. The measure which is mandatory at European level, has long been rejected in France.

As of January 1st, 2023, motorized vehicles with two or three wheels and motor quadricycles are subject to the control as specified in the decree published in the Official Journal on Wednesday 11 August. It must be carried out within the six months preceding a period of four years after the vehicle is put into service, then renewed every two years.

And Finally

Are you the perfect neighbour? With lockdowns and working from home, getting along with our neighbours has never been more important.

Recently in the UK the top 10 weirdest behaviours of Britain's worst neighbours were revealed - including licking cars - so it's easy to know what we shouldn't do but, new research has revealed the secrets to maintain happy neighbourly relations which are as follows;

  1. Don’t venture into small talk before 10am
  2. Put your neighbours’ deliveries in their hiding place
  3. Be friendly, but not overly familiar
  4. Be generous with lending your garden furniture
  5. Avoid the over-the-fence flirts
  6. Don’t gossip on the street, you never know whose window is open
  7. If you’re sweeping your path, give next door's a brush too
  8. Shut the curtains when you’re getting dressed
  9. Tidy empty bottles away during the day, no one likes a sudden noise in the night.
  10. Offer to water the plants when your neighbour goes away.

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