Evening Update Wednesday 9 September 2020

A case of dengue fever has been detected in the Var. It's believed that a tourist from the Netherlands contracted the disease whilst staying in La Croix Valmer. Authorities are planning to spray an area of the town for tiger mosquitos today. It comes as the Regional Health Agency has warned of a “possible outbreak” of dengue fever in Nice. Two cases have been confirmed in Nice since the beginning of this month and several others are suspected.

The CGT union has called for a nationwide “day of action” next Thursday, 17 September. The union said that it hopes people will demonstrate in various ways to show their unhappiness with government policy and for a more social and environmental transformation of the French economy.

Traffic on the Voie Mathis in Nice was badly disrupted this morning by two separate accidents. A collision involving a motorbike and a car happened at the height of the rush hour, at around 8.45. A second, involving two cars, took place at about 11am.

Meteo France have a Yellow Warning for storms in the Var from about 2am until at least 4pm tomorrow, Thursday,  and for the Alpes Maritimes from about 8am to at least 4pm tomorrow.

A 39 year old man has died after being shot in Aubagne in the Bouches-du-Rhone. Firefighters were called to a blaze involving several vehicles and found the victim at the scene. The incident, which happened last night, is believed by authorities to be a settling of accounts amongst drugs traffickers.

Line 1 of the Marseille Metro system was brought to a halt for over an hour during this morning's rush hour because of a suicide attempt. A 45 year old man threw himself in front of a train at the Vieux Port station. Reports say that the man fell into a cavity on the tracks and was not hit by the train but was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

A court in Nice has sentenced a homeless man to one year in prison for attempting to steal a car radio. Police were called by a local resident to a car on the avenue Cyrille-Besset where they found the man attempting to remove the radio. The court heard that the man was a drug addict. Originally from Georgia, his bid for asylum had been rejected and he therefore did not have the right to be on French territory.

A petition has been launched by the Nice a Velo association to attempt to save the remaining part of the controversial cycle path on Boulevard Gambetta. The path was installed during lockdown but parts of it were removed over the summer after local traders protested, saying it was reducing their trade.

French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly has been in the Hautes-Pyrénées department today to attend a tribute to two French soldiers killed in Mali last weekend. A private ceremony was held in Paris yesterday.

Motorway operator Vinci Autoroutes are drawing the attention of motorway users to the dangers faced by their staff. Yesterday afternoon a patrol van which was protecting a heavy vehicle in difficulty was struck by a car on the A10 motorway in central France. Vinci say that the incident brings the number of intervention vehicles struck on the VINCI Autoroutes network to 37 since the start of this year and is calling for extra vigilance by motorists.


BUSINESS

Ryanair has said it expects the travel market this winter to "essentially be a write off". Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said today that Ryanair is expecting to carry 50 million passangers in the year up to the end of March. As recently as May the airline was forecasting 80 million passangers.  He said that he believed short-haul intra-European business travel and visits "will return very quickly, once there is an identifiable vaccine".

French retailer Auchan has announced plans to eliminate 1,475 jobs. The figure includes ten positions which are currently vacant. The company said that it was also planning to create 377 new positions. The move is part of a plan launched last year in which the retailer aims to implement cost savings of 1.1 billion euros.

An e-sports company in which David Beckham owns a significant stake has announced plans to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange. Guild Esports said it plans to field teams in the global online games Fortnite, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League and Fifa.


SPORT

Football... Brentford player Ollie Watkins has signed for Aston Villa. The striker has joined Villa for 28 million pounds, which could rise to 33 million with add-ons and is a record fee for the club.

Alex Greenwood has joined Manchester City's Womens team. The England left-back had been with French club Lyon for one season and has joined City on a free trasfer.

Cycling... It's the 11th stage of the Tour de France today over 167.5 kilometers ending in Poitiers. It’s mainly on the flat which should benefit the sprinters.

It's been announced that Lizzie Deignan has been included in the Great Britain team for the UCI Road World Championships in Italy. Lizzy Banks and Alice Barnes are also included for both the road race and time trial.

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