Lunchtime News Wednesday 17th June 2020

50 people evacuated following a fire - 50 people have been evacuated following a fire on the ground floor of a four-storey building in La Seyne-sur-Mer in the Var. The blaze broke out in the car park of the residence on Tuesday night. One person was hospitalised and a firefighter was injured.

Emergency services arrived at the scene just after midnight. The fire spread to other vehicles in the car park and 22 firefighters from the Var intervened. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the blaze.

Mayor of Paris announced plan for speed restrictions in the capital if re-elected - Anne Hidalgo has announced that if she is re-elected as Mayor of Paris, she intends to introduce a 30km speed limit in the capital.

Hidalgo has not weakened her anti-car policy and on the contrary, plans to take several important measures, in particular to reduce speed to 30 km / h on most streets - the limit to 50 km / h would only remain on major routes, such as the Champs-Elysées, and on the ring road.

World War II bomb discovered in the Loire - A German World War II bomb has been found in the Loire, near Orléans.

A group, who were at the time paddle boarding, made the underwater discovery on Tuesday and immediately notified the authorities.  Described as an “exceptional” discovery by the regional prefecture experts, say the device does not pose any danger. An extraction date has not yet been set.

Trafficking of driving licenses - Six people are to appear in court in France suspected of having organized a traffic of false driving licenses for television celebrities and footballers.

Licenses were reportedly offered without going through the 20 hour driving course.

Six people are on trial from today in Nanterre for having mounted a scam between October 2013 and April 2015 allowing candidates to obtain a license without have completed the course.

The licenses were reportedly issued in return for payments of between 2 and 12 thousand euro.

French Olympic hopeful climber dies - 16 year old French Olympic hopeful climber, Luce Douady, has died after a cliff fall.

Douady was killed on Sunday when she fell on a footpath in a climbing area in the French Alps. The 16-year-old reigning world junior champion fell 150m as she and a group of friends were crossing a tricky path equipped with a handrail between two climbing areas.

Douady was seen as one of the brightest young talents in climbing, a sport which will be introduced to the Olympics in Tokyo next year.

Author Roger Borniches dies at 101 - Author and former police officer Roger Borniches has died at the age of 101 in Cannes.

Borniche had distinguished himself as a police officer in the 1950s. He went on to write detective novels which inspired several French films including “Flic Story” starring Alain Delon in 1975 and “René La Canne” with Gérard Depardieu in 1977.

Discover the Var – The French television channel France 3 is this evening, offering its viewers the chance to discover the Var. The programme “Des Racines et des Ailes” which is to be aired this evening at 9pm will take you on a memorable trip not to be missed to discover the region.

From France’s first military port in Toulon to the rose garden of the La Colle Armelle castle in Fayence where Christian Dior took refuge in the 1950s.