An urban renewal plan which will bring new funds to three areas of Nice was signed this morning. Under the plan Les Liserons, L'Ariane et les Moulins districts will benefit from new investment. The plan includes improvements to public housing which will last for several years starting next year and provides for expenditure of 347 million euros.
About 5,000 customers were still without electricity in the Alpes Maritimes this afternoon, according to local reports. About 100 Enedis technicians were working to restore supplies to those affected, including customers in villages in higher elevations which were affected by last night’s snowfalls.
Two people have been detained by customs officers after the discovery of weapons in their vehicle. The two men, in their twenties and from the Lyon area, were stopped at the Capitou payage in Frejus.
Two men are recovering after apparently being poisoned by carbon monoxide at a property in the Var. Reports say that a technician was repairing a boiler at a villa in Gassin this morning in the presence of the owner. The two were overcome by fumes and the alarm was raised by a gardener who pulled the two from the boiler room and alerted emergency services. Their lives are not in danger.
A 60 year old man has been detained by police in La Seyne in connection with suspected drugs offences. He was arrested while carrying 7.5kg of freshly cut cannabis plants. He had allegedly been growing the plants in a location in the centre of the town which had been under police surveillance.
Pedestrians on a street in the centre of Marseille have escaped injury after the cornice of a building fell into the street. The incident happened this afternoon on Rue de Rome in the old port area. The tramway and road traffic were disrupted while pompier established a security cordon and took down the remainder of the cornice at the top of the four storey building.
While most of us on the coast had to endure heavy rainfall yesterday, the recent precipitation has been beneficial to the region’s ski resorts. Significant snowfall was reported yesterday evening in areas above about 900 metres, including Valberg, Auron and Isola 2000.There was about 60 centimetres of snow at Valberg this morning. The Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes has announced that winter equipment is mandatory for all areas of the department above 800 meters. Meanwhile authorities in the Var have said that only one road now remains closed in the department because of the bad weather. The RD 71 in the Gorges du Verdon could remain closed all weekend.
Motorists are being reminded that next week VINCI Autoroutes will be doing works on the A8 motorway at the Roquebrune-Cap-Martin interchange (Junction 58). The works will require traffic modifications on the carriageway in the direction of Nice. The traffic will be modified for 2 nights, from Monday 18th to Wednesday 20th, from 9pm to 5am.
BUSINESS
Hong Kong has confirmed that it has entered its first recession for a decade as it continues to be affected by protests. Its economy contracted by 3.2% in the July-to-September period compared with the previous quarter. It means Hong Kong’s economy has contracted for two quarters in a row.
Amazon has filed an intention to appeal against the US Department of Defense's decision to give a major contract to Microsoft. Amazon had been considered the favourite to win the deal, worth $10bn over the next 10 years. President Trump had previously attacked Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, which has been critical of his presidency.
SPORT
Motorsports… Alexander Albon brought a wet first practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix to a premature end this afternoon when he crashed at the last corner and broke his front suspension and wing. However, Albon also ended the session in first place. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was second, followed by Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc. Second practice gets underway at 7.00 this evening our time.
Rugby Union…The European Champions Cup is back in action this weekend. Tonight in Pool 5 Gloucester play Toulouse and there are a stack of ties tomorrow including Bath against Ulster in Pool 3 and La Rochelle against Exeter in Pool 2.
Football…Manchester City have failed in an initial bid to stop Uefa's investigation into a possible breach of Financial Fair Play rules. The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced the decision. The club deny any wrongdoing and had argued that Uefa did not have the authority to bring a Financial Fair Play case against them.
Plans to play Villarreal's home game against Atletico Madrid on 6 December in Miami have been abandoned. The game is being blocked by the Spanish Football Association. A Spanish court will make a final ruling on whether the Spanish FA can prevent La Liga holding a game in the US in February.
Marcello Lippi has resigned as the manager of China for the second time this year after a 2-1 defeat by Syria. The defeat left China second in the Asia qualifying Group A and five points behind leaders Syria. Lippi is a former manager of Italy and was in charge when they won the 2006 World Cup.
Potential presence of broken glass in pizzas. A recall has been issued for several pizzas distributed by Auchan Avallon in France due to the potential...
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The Riviera's ski resorts are celebrating a record winter season.
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The Monegasque government informed its residents today that a fraudulent call campaign is currently targeting the Principality, mainly the most vulner...
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A new study suggests businesses in the Alpes-Maritimes are losing millions of euros per year and hundreds of thousands of hours of workers' time due t...
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Food safety inspectors plan to carry out 100,000 checks on French restaurant and bakeries this year, almost twice as many as last year, to coincide wi...
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