Evening Update Wednesday 11 December

French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe has given a speech and a press conference this afternoon giving details of the government’s controversial pension reforms. He said that the changes would apply to those entering work from 2022 and would not affect those born before 1975. The Prime Minister said that the reforms would guarantee a minimum monthly pension of €1,000 for those employed throughout their working life up to the age of 62, and that it would particularly benefit women. He said that public sector workers, such as members of the armed forces, firefighters, police officers and prison guards, would still be entitled to early retirement under the plans. He added that the new universal scheme would encourage people to work longer while putting an end to France's complex retirement system. France currently has 42 different pension schemes across its private and public sectors, with variations in retirement age and benefits. The proposed universal pension system aims to reward employees for each day worked with points which can later be converted into benefits. He vowed to push ahead with the programme regardless of the recent protests.

As far as local industrial action is concerned, Lignes d'Azur have said that there will be no tram services in Nice tomorrow morning between 830 and 12.30. Bus services will be very disrupted. On the trains, disruption will be similar to today – in other words, about 3 out of 10 local TER services will be running – a figure which includes replacement bus services. There should be 24 return journeys between Nice and Ventimiglia, which is about a quarter of the normal number. There should be about 20 return journeys on the Nice to Cannes line.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has inaugurated the redeveloped square Durandy. Works to improve the square have been carried out over the past five years and include the new tram stop. The inauguration of the square precedes the official opening of Line 2 of the tramway, which is scheduled for this coming Saturday.

The elderly couple who were hit by a car in Mandelieu-La Napoule yesterday afternoon are reported to be making a good recovery and their lives are not thought to be in danger. The 85 year old man and woman were hit by a car being reversed by an 86 year old woman who was reversing out of a parking place. They were initially rushed to the Pasteur Hospital 2 in Nice but have since been moved to a hospital in Cannes.

Christian Estrosi and several sporting personalities have unveiled a clock counting down to the start of the 2020 Tour de France. The clock is in the Christmas market in Nice. Riders will start from Nice on the 27 and 28 June next year and make two loops, before leaving on June 29 towards Sisteron.

A man has been fatally shot in a suburb of Lyon this afternoon. The 19 year old was apparently shot in the back at about 1.30pm by an unknown assailant. Few other details of the incident are currently known and police enquiries are continuing.

EasyJet have announced a new route from Nice Cote d’Azur airport. The airline will start flights to the Spanish island of Minorca next June.

 

BUSINESS

Holiday company Tui has reported full-year pre-tax earnings down by 29.5% to €691m.The company said that the grounding of Boeing's 737 Max planes due to safety concerns had cost the company €293m. Tui also warned of a further €130m impact from the grounding - but said it could climb to €270m if the aircraft does not return to service by the end of April. The group said with the 737 Max plane costs stripped out, underlying earnings were largely flat on a year earlier.

The UK competition regulator has said it may be necessary to launch an in-depth investigation into Amazon's plans to invest in food delivery firm Deliveroo. The Competition and Markets Authority said it was worried the tie-up could increase delivery prices. The CMA gave the two companies five days to address its concerns about competition in the food delivery space. If they fail to convince the watchdog the $575m deal could ultimately be blocked.

A German internet service provider faces a €9.6m fine after being accused of failing to carry out appropriate customer ID checks. Germany's data protection watchdog said anyone who called 1&1 Telecom could get extensive personal information about customers solely by giving their name and date of birth. However, the company says that it plans to challenge the ruling.

 

SPORT

Cricket… It’s been the first day of the First Test in Rawalpindi. At the end of the day Sri Lanka were 202-5 after 68.1 overs, with Pakistan yet to bat. It’s the first test match to be played in Pakistan since a terror attack in 2009.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan have reappointed batsman Asghar Afghan as captain across all three formats, eight months after he was sacked from the role. Afghanistan took the captaincy away from Asghar two months before this summer's World Cup.

Rugby Union… New Zealand have appointed Ian Foster to coach the All Blacks, replacing Steve Hansen who left the post at the end of the Rugby World Cup. Foster, who served as Hansen's assistant for eight years, said that he felt “truly privileged and honoured”.

Football…Duncan Ferguson will remain as Everton caretaker manager for the game at Manchester United this weekend. The former Blues striker took temporary charge at the club last week following the sacking of Marco Silva. Reports say that the club are continuing to weigh up their options as regards a permanent manager, with former boss David Moyes still figuring heavily in discussions.

According to reports, FIFA are planning to sue Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter to obtain reimbursement of 2 million Swiss Francs. The amount had been paid to Mr Platini by former FIFA president Blatter in 2011. The two men were suspended from involvement in football for several years as a result of the payment.

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