Evening Update Monday 28 October

Fifty people were evacuated at the Pasteur 2 Hospital in Nice this morning after a fire alert. Smoke was seen coming from a generator used for powering an air conditioning system and the evacuation was carried out as a precautionary measure. Reports say that 25 fire fighters and six appliances attended the scene, along with personnel from various other services. The source of the smoke was extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

Traffic on Line 2 of the Nice tramway was halted late this morning after a collision between a tram and a van. The accident happened on boulevard René-Cassin, between the Grand Arenas and Parc Phoenix stops in the west of the city. Service was resumed about an hour later.

A motorist has died after an accident near Nimes at the weekend. The man’s car collided with a horse which was in the middle of the road late on Saturday night. Another motorist also hit the animal but escaped without serious injury. It’s likely that the horse will have to be put down.

A  man is in a serious condition in hospital in Nice after falling 20 metres into a ravine in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. According to reports, the man had been travelling by car on a remote road with several other people in the early hours of the morning. The group stopped at the side of the road for a break and the 23 year old fell from the edge of a cliff into the ravine. A specialist group of pompiers performed the rescue in difficult terrain and the man was airlifted to hospital by a 06 Civil Security helicopter.

One person has been arrested after shots were fired near a mosque in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department this afternoon. Two people were injured in the incident in Bayonne during which a lit can of petrol was also thrown, according to police.

A 26 year old man has died after being shot in Marseille last night. Another man was taken to hospital after being injured in the same incident. The prosecutor has said that the attack appeared to be a settling of accounts in the criminal community. Investigations are continuing.

If you live in La Londe in the Var, don’t be surprised if your electricity supply is disrupted over the next couple of days. Enedis are carrying out works on their network that will mean electricity will be cut to various premises in La Londe during the course of tomorrow and Wednesday. Supplies should only be interrupted for about 45 minutes to one hour in the late morning.

 

BUSINESS

French department store chain Galeries Lafayette plans to open 10 shops in China by 2025, according to reports in the Financial Times. Chief Executive Nicolas Houzé was quoted as saying that it will be hard for the company to expand a lot more in France and that China is a great opportunity.

HSBC has announced that profit before tax fell 18% to $4.8bn in the third quarter. The bank also warned of a "challenging" environment ahead. Interim chief executive Noel Quinn said its performance in parts of Europe and the US was "not acceptable" and that it was "accelerating plans to remodel" those divisions. However, Mr Quinn praised the bank's performance in Asia.

LVMH, the world's biggest luxury goods firm, has confirmed that it's held "preliminary" talks with US jeweler Tiffany. It followed weekend media reports that LVMH had made a $14.5bn offer for the company. LVMH added that there is no certainty of a deal.

 

SPORT

Tennis... Roger Federer has announced that he's withdrawing from the Paris Masters this week. He said he had withdrawn in order to "pace himself" for next month's ATP Finals in London. The 38-year-old is playing in his 22nd season on the ATP Tour and won a record-extending 10th Swiss Indoor championship title over the weekend.

Also in tennis news, Elina Svitolina has beaten world number two Karolina Pliskova 7-6 6-4 at the WTA Finals in China. The match included an 18-minute first set tie-break.  Simona Halep survived match point before beating Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu 3-6 7-6 6-3

Football… French midfielder Franck Ribery has apologised for pushing an assistant referee in Fiorentina's 2-1 defeat by Lazio. Ribery said that he apologised to his team-mates, the coach and the fans. He received a red card for the incident.

Cricket… New Zealand opener Hamish Rutherford has been re-signed by Worcestershire for the whole of the 2020 county season. The 30-year-old played 14 games for the county this summer and hit three centuries. Meanwhile, England left-arm seamer Reece Topley has joined Surrey on a white-ball deal after leaving Sussex. The 25-year-old will also be considered for Surrey's County Championship matches.

 

MA NOLAN'S RUGBY WORLD CUP REPORT

England head coach Eddie Jones has said that Leicester wing Jonny May is recovering well from the dead leg he suffered during Saturday's semi-final and would be fit to face South Africa at the weekend. Fly-half Owen Farrell also picked up a dead leg in the first half against New Zealand, leaving George Ford to take over the kicking duties. Jones said that Farrell will be "fine". Saracens scrum-half Ben Spencer was due to join up with the England squad today as replacement for Willi Heinz, who suffered a hamstring injury against New Zealand. Meanwhile, Wales players and supporters have been left reflecting on what might have been. The nail-biting 19-16 semi-final defeat by South Africa in Yokohama means that Wales will battle for third place against New Zealand on Friday.

 

 

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