French and Riviera News.Friday July 19th 2019

Hospital Strike-Accident and emergency staff at Nice hospitals are into a third day of strike action today.

Negotiations between unions representing staff and management have stalled over demands for extra workers ,a pay rise of 300 euros for everyone in the department and an end to hospital bed closures.

Management have refused to comment.

 

Motorbike death-A 68 year old Norwegian man has died following a motorbike accident on the route de la Gaude in St Jeannet.

A passer by found the victim near to his machine following the crash,the cause of which is not yet clear.Police have opened an enquiry.

 

Africa Cup-Security has been stepped up in Nice ahead of this evening’s Africa Cup of Nations football final between Algeria and Senegal.

Ethnic Algerian and Senegalese football fans  are expected to watch the match in bars across the city tonight.

An important police presence will be on the streets in a bid to prevent potential flashpoints.

 

Inmate charged-Two prison officers have been injured after being attacked by an inmate at Grasse jail.

The incident happened during a security check by officers who suspected that the prisoner was concealing cannabis in his mouth.

The inmate refused to co-operate and struck two officers one of whom suffered a cut lip and the other an injury to his hand.

The inmate was eventually restrained after officers had called reinforcements but he managed to swallow whatever he had in his mouth.

He’s been charged with assault.

 

Refuse-55 mayors from across the Var have written to the Prefect of the department calling for an urgent solution to be found for the growing amount of waste being collected across the region.

At the moment ,much of the refuse collected in the Var is sent to the neighbouring Bouches-du-Rhone department for disposal-most of it ends up in landfill.

Veolia ,which handles much of the refuse, has imposed new restrictions which means that only 25 percent of collected waste can be transferred from one department to another.

As a result ,thousands of tonnes of  waste is being collected in the Var with nowhere to take it for disposal.

Mayors have warned that unless a solution is found quickly,the Var  will be swamped with undisposed refuse.

They’ve called for a radical rethink on how waste is disposed with a much bigger focus on recycling.

 

Missing cats-Animal welfare volunteers have expressed alarm at a growing number of stray cats who’ve disappeared from the rue Victorien-Sardou in Le Cannet Rocheville.

People who feed the cats say that the numbers of animals who come to eat at the fountain on the street have dwindled alarmingly over the past couple of weeks.

As well as the stray cats who’ve gone missing there have been a growing number of posters put up locally by the owners of domesticated animals who have also disappeared.

As yet ,no bodies have been discovered.

 

Bike thief-A 24 year old man has been jailed for two months by the Monaco criminal tribunal for stealing two bicycles ,a tablet and a computer.

The man, a Cameroon national admitted that he’d come to Monaco to steal but told the court that he carried out the thefts to buy food.

Prosecutors highlighted the fact that he had several previous convictions for theft and that he was in receipt of 1,000 euros monthly in unemployment benefit.

The defence appealed for clemency but the president of the Court decided to accept the prosecution’s recommendation.

 

In National News.

 

No-deal-Concerns are growing that the British government is not doing enough to inform UK citizens living in rural areas of France about how they could be affected in the event of a no deal Brexit.

The Local France reports that although the British Embassy in Paris has been doing its best to inform UK citizens of how they may be affected ,there are thousands of people living in deep rural areas of the country who may not be aware of what could happen.

So far,only a small proportion of the estimated 150,000  to 200,000 British citizens living in France have applied for a residency permit as advised by the Embassy and French Interior Ministry.

The Embassy has defended its actions and says that it’s been holding regular outreach meetings as well as live Facebook question and answer sessions but the problem remains that many UK Nationals live at considerable distance from a large town and may not even be connected to the internet.

Some British nationals are believed to be living ‘under the radar’ and may not even be registered with local authorities.

Pressure groups including the Facebook group Remain in France Together(RIFT) think that a much more concerted effort should be made to reach as many British nationals living in France as possible to make sure people are aware of what may be coming.

 

 

Climate change-A report by a French environmental thinktank has warned that climate change will have a big effect on the coastline.

The report ,by the Fabrique Ecologique group says that coastal flooding is already affecting 1.4 million French residents and directly threatens 850,000 jobs and 590,000 hectares of land.

The report says that by 2040 ,forty percent of the population will be living in coastal areas of the country and that preventing regular flooding will be a major challenge.

Fabrique Ecologique warns that local authorities don’t have sufficient technical or financial means to deal with the growing problem and is calling for increased central government funding.

 

Come on in-The government has launched a new interactive map which shows the quality of bathing water around the country.

Regular  testing on sea water is carried out throughout the summer months to make sure that its clean and that any pollution or bacterial outbreak is quickly detected.Some local authorities carry out tests on a daily basis but in some cases it can only be weekly or even once a month.

Bathing can be banned by both regional and national authorities if water isn’t considered safe to swim in.

The map is available at baignades.sante.gouv.fr

The best quality beaches carry a ‘pavillon bleu’ mark.

 

Business.

 

US markets recovered some ground on Thursday following two days of falls.Comments from the New York Fed president John Williams helped to boost stocks.

At the close the S&P 500 was up by 0.4 percent to 29 95 with the Dow Jones Industrials up very slightly at 27,222 and the Nasdaq up 0.3 percent at 82 07.

 

The UK Office for Budget Responsibility has said that public borrowing could double next year in the event of a no deal Brexit.

The OBR says that borrowing would reach almost 60 billion pounds if the UK leaves without a deal-up from 29.3 billion if a deal is agreed.

The budget watchdog added that the scenario was based on assumptions that a no-deal exit would cause a recession.

On Thursday , the House of Commons passed an amendment which would make it much harder for the next Prime Minister to prorogue Parliament to force a no deal Brexit through.17 Conservative MPs voted against the government while 5 Ministers including the Chancellor Phillip Hammond abstained .

Meanwhile the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said that the UK will have to “suffer the consequences” if it leaves without a deal.

Mr Barnier told the BBC that the only way for the UK to leave in an orderly fashion was for Parliament to pass the thrice-rejected withdrawal agreement negotiated by Theresa May.

 

Shares in the online fashion retailer Asos have slumped after it said that profits this year are likely to be much lower than expectations.

Asos said that sales growth in the US and Europe had been affected by problems at its warehouses.

The firm said that the problems meant that consumers had not had the full range of clothing available to them in those particular markets.

Asos said that it now expects to report profits of 30-35 million pounds this year well below the 55 million pounds forecast by analysts.

 

And-A European environmental lobby group has said that the number of electric car models available to consumers is expected to triple by 2021.

Sales of electric vehicles have stalled in Europe in recent months owing to a lack of charging infrastructure and high prices.

Governments have been criticised for reducing incentives to get motorists to make the switch to green vehicles.The French government is the latest to tighten criteria which pays motorists a subsidy for ditching fossil fuel cars.

The latest data shows that carmakers will be offering 214 different electric models by 2021-up from just 60 at the end of 2018.

It’s hoped that more affordable options will see motorists switch from petrol and diesel cars sooner than currently projected.

 

Sport.

 

Golf-JB Holmes of the United States leads by one shot following the first round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Holmes hit a 5 under par 66 to lead by one shot from Shane Lowery of Ireland and Jon Rahm of Spain.

It was a terrible day for Rory Mcilroy who finished on 8 over par and Tiger Woods who ended on 7 over.

 

Football-The new Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce says that he wants to prove the “doubters wrong” after his appointment was criticised by supporters.

Bruce joins Newcastle from Sheffield United with some fans saying that he’s the wrong appointment and that they’ll boycott matches.

Bruce says that he acknowledges that the job will be difficult but that he hopes that he can earn the respect of supporters getting results.

 

Cycling-Simon Yates of Great Britain has claimed his maiden Tour de France victory after winning stage 12  between Toulouse and Bagneres-de-Bigorre on Thursday.

Yates narrowly won a sprint finish  and has now secured wins in stages of all three Grand Tours.

Julian Alaphilippe of France still holds the leader’s yellow jersey ahead of defending champion Geraint Thomas.

Today’s 13th stage is a 27.2 kilometer time trial around Pau.

Geraint Thomas is expected to make up time on the leader before the heads into a grueling stage 14 tomorrow between Tarbes and Tourmalet.

 

Netball-The semi finals of the World Cup will be between England and New Zealand and Australia and South Africa.

On Thursday England beat South Africa 58-47 to set up a date with the Kiwis while Australia beat New Zealand by a single point 50-49 meaning that they ended top of their group.

 

Weather.

 

Clear skies with the odd rumble of thunder inland in the Alpes-Maritimes later.

Light to moderate south easterly winds and highs of 26-30 degrees.

Overnight lows of 21 degrees on the coast and 16 degrees inland with clear skies.

The weekend-Clear skies with highs of 26-30 degrees tomorrow ,28-32 degrees on Sunday.

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