Evening Update Monday 17 August 2020

The Mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, has this afternoon signed a new municipal decree which imposes the wearing of a protective mask in all public and "collective private enclosed places", immediately physical distancing measures cannot be respected. The town hall said that the new decree, which comes into force tomorrow, August 18, applies to anyone over the age of eleven. It said that the places concerned by the decree are all spaces accessible to the public, but also, for example, common private spaces such as those in appartment blocks such entrances and elevators and "those of professional sites, etc." The High Council for Public Health has recently recommended the “systematic” wearing of masks in all closed collective, public and private places.

Three people have been injured after a light aircraft crashed shortly after take-off in Le Castellet in the Var this morning. Several emergency service vehicles attended the scene along with emergency vehicles from the airport. The three people were taken to hospital but only suffered slight injuries. Reports say that a student pilot was at the controls at the time of the accident. An investigation has been opened.

A motorcyclist has been seriously injured in an accident on the A8 motorway this afternoon. The collision between the motorbike and a car happened on the westbound carriageway near Mandelieu-La-Napoule. The Dragon06 helicopter and 25 firefighters were at the scene. Traffic was badly affected, with vehicles only able to use one carriageway.

A suspect in the murder of a man in Nice has been arrested in Milan. A Tunisian man in his twenties was attacked in a squat about ten days ago in the rue du Rocher. A European search warrant was issued and the suspect is now in the process of being extradited from Italy.

Two flights arriving at Toulon-Hyeres airport were diverted to Marseille this morning after the discovery of a World War II shell. Workers found the shell during works at the airport and a bomb disposal team was called in. One departure was also cancelled this afternoon.

The bodies of two people have been discovered in an apartment in Nice. The discovery was made yesterday on the rue Miollis, near the main railway station. The two men are believed to have been homeless and an investigation into the cause of their deaths has been opened.

A TGV train travelling from Paris to Nice has made an unscheduled stop to remove a passanger who refused to wear a mask. Reports say that the man was initially fined and when he still didn't comply, the train stopped at the next station. SNCF agents were waiting at the station in Le Creusot in the east of France.

Two people have been arrested after a car hit a pedestrian in Cannes in the early hours of yesterday morning. The two got out of the car but are accused of then leaving the scene of the accident. The pedestrian's injuries aren't thought to be life threatening.

A driver from Mandelieu was caught doing 146 km per hour on the route Napoleon over the weekend. The speed limit in the area was 80. Meanwhile, on the A8 motorway, a driver was recorded doing 196 km per hour in an area where the speed limit is 110.

The French Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot is set to hold meetings with representatives from the cultural sector this week. The meetings come as a new survey published by Le Figaro newspaper suggests that about one third of people don't plan to go to the cinema, theatre or concerts whilst the coronavirus is still circulating.

 

BUSINESS

Ryanair has cut the number of flights it plans to operate in September and October by 20%. The airline said that the cuts will be "heavily focused" on Spain, France, and Sweden and said that bookings had "notably weakened" in the past ten days.

The Bundesbank, the German Central bank, has said that it expects the German economy to grow "very strongly" in the current quarter. However, it said that the pandemic would continue to have a negative effect on German exporters until an effective vaccine is available.

Selfridges has said that it will start offering customers the option of clothing rental. The move is part of the company's "Project Earth" five year plan unveiled today. Selfridges Managing Director Anne Pitcher said that customers are demanding businesses take environmental concerns seriously. She added that Selfridges is also moving into second-hand clothes, recycling and repair.

Footfall on UK high streets and in shopping centres is still well below the levels seen at the same time in 2019. A new survey shows that footfall in UK high streets last week was down 40% from last year and in shopping centres was 37% lower than last year.

Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has said that it will continue to allow staff to work from home after the pandemic ends. The firm said that lockdown had shown that people can be "productive, engaged and happy" working from home. Several other financial services businesses in the UK have announced similar plans recently, having seen a rise in productivity and employee satisfaction when working from home.


SPORT

Tennis.. World Number 2 Simona Halep has announced that she won't be taking part in the US Open because of the coronavirus risk. Halep is the sixth player in the world women's top ten to have withdrawn from the tournament.

Cricket... It's the final day of the England against Pakistan second test in Southampton. Play was once again delayed by rain this morning. Play did, however, eventually get underway late this afternoon. The final test begins on Friday, also in Southampton.

Football... Reports say that goalkeeper Joe Hart is set to join Spurs on a free transfer. He was previously with Burnley and Manchester City and also played for England.

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