Evening News Update Thursday 10 January

Yellow Vest protestors in Antibes have occupied another roundabout almost immediately after being dislodged from their previous encampment last night.  The new roundabout is close to Junction 44 of the A8 motorway and the protestors have apparently set up camp on several parking spaces.


Seven people have appeared in court accused of violence and destruction of property at the La Ciotat toll booths on the 29th of November. They were arrested on the sidelines of a yellow vest protest but apparently were not wearing yellow vests themselves at the time of the incident. The verdict will be delivered on the 13th of February.


An investigation has been opened after the body of a man was found in a car in Nice.  The discovery was made yesterday afternoon in the parking of a residence on the Avenue de la Lanterne in the west of the city. According to reports, the man is believed to be between 35 and 40 years old.


The Appeals Court in Aix-en-Provence has today been hearing an appeal by a 58 year old woman against her conviction for the poisoning of four men.   Patricia Dagorn was sentenced to 22 years in prison last January by the Alpes Maritimes Court in Nice.  The four men, two of whom later died, were poisoned in 2011 and 2012. 


A 13 year old driver has been involved in an accident in which one person was killed.  The teenager was driving a stolen car along country roads near Aix-en-Provence when he hit two cars yesterday evening.


Twenty one palm trees are being felled on the Croisette in Cannes this week.  After a survey of 110 nearby palm trees, authorities deemed the trees to be in an unsafe condition. Two trees on the Croisette fell last year.  The trees which are being removed will be replaced by other palm trees in the spring.


The oldest library in Nice has reopened after renovation works with an official ceremony this morning. The Romain-Gary library was built in the late nineteenth century and bought by the City of Nice in 1925 to be transformed into a library. As well as books of historical significance, the library contains thousands of historical documents, prints, posters, photographs and postcards, including a New Testament from 1523. 


Public donations to charities have dropped sharply in France in 2018, plunging by more than 6.5 percent on last year, with some forecasting an overall 10 percent fall. France Générosité – a union representing 97 charitable organisations nationwide – reported a €200 million shortfall in the €2.9 billion collected on average each year. The union largely attributes the drop to recent changes in the tax system.
The British Embassy in Paris has announced its upcoming citizens outreach meetings with one planned in Cannes on January 31st


BUSINESS

 

Industrial production in France fell by 1.3% in one month in November. Numerous sectors, such as chemistry, computer products, pharmaceuticals and textiles experienced reductions according to data released today by the French statistics body INSEE.


Ford has announced that it’s planning major changes in its European operations. It plans to focus on more profitable models and exit less profitable markets to concentrate more on electric and hybrid technology. The company will also expand its commercial vehicle business, which will be one of three new divisions being created, along with passenger vehicles and imported vehicles.  Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that it will cut 4,500 jobs, with the substantial majority coming from its 40,000 strong UK workforce. Most of the cuts will be in office roles as the company wants to simplify its management structure. It adds to last year's announcement of 1,500 job cuts.


More than 600 flights have been cancelled from German airports because of a strike by security staff in a pay dispute. The strike centres on airports in western Germany including Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart.


Swedish telecoms equipment provider Ericsson has taken a charge of $687m for the fourth quarter of 2018, due to losses incurred by its business support system division. The Swedish firm is still in the midst of restructuring its business - in the first quarter of 2018 much of its top management were replaced and 18,000 jobs have been cut since July 2017.
AXA, the French insurer, says that it will move staff from the UK and France to Ireland because of Brexit. The company said that XL Group, which AXA acquired last year, had already initiated plans to move staff to Ireland before the deal.


SPORT

 

Tennis….Law enforcement officials in Spain have arrested 28 professional tennis players in an investigation into match-fixing. EU police agency Europol said the players were among 83 people detained by Spain's Civil Guard. According to Europol, the suspects are alleged to have bribed professional players to guarantee predetermined results and used the identities of thousands of citizens to bet on the pre-arranged games.


Motorsports… McLaren have appointed Andreas Seidl as the managing director of their Formula 1 team. The 46-year-old German is the former head of Porsche's World Endurance Championship team. 

 

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