French and Riviera News Monday 26th August 2019

Local

French rap artist abandons yacht after it catches fire - French rap artist Maitre Gims has abandoned a yacht after it caught fire on Sunday afternoon in the bay of Bonifacio. At the time of the incident five other people, including two crew members, also abandoned the yacht on a tender. The yacht which had been rented by the singer reportedly caught fire due to an engine failure with some 3,000 liters of fuel in the tanks, giving rise to fears of water pollution and “environmental damage”.  An anti-pollution boat is expected to arrive in the area this morning and an investigation has been opened to understand the circumstances of the incident

Prison sentence - A 29-year-old Libyan national has been sentenced to four years in prison for snatching jewelry repetitively from pensioners in Cannes. On several occasions the man reportedly followed his elderly victims into their building before entering the lift with them and stripping them brutally of any valuables.

Flea market Jas des Roberts - The flea market of Jas des Roberts in Grimaud in the Var is yet to find a new home. The popular Sunday market came under threat following the end of its lease in January which was not renewed. Organizers are still hoping to find a solution either through renewing the lease of finding a new location in the area.

Tropical nights - According to a study by Météo France, since June 21st, there have been a total of 59 "tropical nights", nights during which the minimum temperature has not dropped below 20 degrees. This is apparently completely unheard of during this period from June 21st to July 23rd. The previous record dates from last year, with 58 tropical nights over the same period.

Nice -Cannes Marathon - It’s been announced that training sessions ahead of the Nice Cannes marathon are to take place organized by former world champion Christophe Pinna. Two training sessions in September and October are planned ahead of the Nice-Cannes marathon, which will take place on November 3rd. Registration is free and open until Friday, September 6th. To participate you need to live in Nice, be between 18 and 60 years old, and provide a medical certificate. Jmebouge.nice.fr.

National

G7 Summit - Iran’s Foreign Minister flew into Biarritz for the G7 summit on Sunday in an unexpected and dramatic attempt to break a diplomatic deadlock over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. His spokesman confirmed that he was there “to continue talks regarding the recent measures between the presidents of Iran and France," adding that "There will be no meetings or negotiations with the American delegation during this trip”. Macron has urged the US administration to offer some sort of relief to Iran, such as lifting sanctions on oil sales to China and India, or a new credit line to enable exports.

Meanwhile Green activists marched on the sidelines of the G7 summit, carrying, upside down, official photographs of the French president which had been stolen from town halls ahead of the summit. 17 people were placed in police custody with 19 arrests being made throughout the day.The protest is the culmination of a months-long civil disobedience movement led by green campaigners and designed to highlight what they say are the gap between Macron’s promises on tackling climate change, and the disappointing reality of his government’s policies.

International leaders gathering at the G7 summit are reportedly nearing an agreement to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday a deal to provide "technical and financial help" was close. Leaders from the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Canada continue their meeting today.

Staff protest at fully automated supermarket - Employees of a Giant Casino supermarket in Anger northwestern France have demonstrated in front of the shop in protest against automatic check outs. A first for a supermarket of this size in France customers were welcomed on Sunday to the fully automated store with no staff.  A hundred people demonstrated with unions calling to continue the protest every Sunday saying their fight was against “the vision of a world of excessive consumption being imposed on French society,"

Paris mark 75 years since the city was liberated - Thousands of people, including US war veterans have turned out in Paris to mark 75 years since the city was liberated from German Nazi occupation, nine months before the end of World War Two. On Sunday the Paris Fire Service lead proceedings by hoisting France's flag on the Champs Elysées just as they did on the 25 August 1944 declaring the city free of Nazi occupation. A re-enactment of the liberation of Paris complete with armoured cars and Parisians dressed in clothes from the 1940s took place. In the evening, the Paris City Hall hosted writers and musicians to read and perform works from or about the war years and the new Museum of the Liberation site was inaugurated. The museum is home to over 7000 original documents, photographs and videos. A new feature of the museum is an underground bunker used by resistance fighters.

Business

According to the White House reports that the US president regretted escalating the trade war with China have been misinterpreted. Donald Trump had earlier responded "Sure, why not?" when asked whether he had second thoughts about the move. The White House said Mr Trump's answer was "misinterpreted... He regrets not raising the tariffs higher." On Friday, Mr Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports, hours after China unveiled plans to increase US duties.

British Airways passengers have expressed their anger at being unable to get through to the airline following the confusion over cancelled flights. BA pilots are due to strike on 9, 10 and 27 September - but BA also told customers with tickets booked on other days that their flights were cancelled.

The company admitted on Saturday that it had told some passengers, by mistake, to rebook or get a refund. It said those who booked other flights could claim the extra costs back. However, it has not commented on how many customers have been affected, or the reason for the error.

Sport

Cricket - Ben Stokes' astonishing 135 not out repeated his World Cup heroics and gave England one of their greatest victories to keep the Ashes series against Australia alive. Just as he dragged England through the super over against New Zealand, Stokes played one of the most incredible Test innings by an Englishman to level the series at 1-1.

It means the series is level with two matches to play, with the fourth Test at Old Trafford beginning on 4 September.

Football - Antoine Griezmann marked his home league debut for Barcelona with his first competitive goals for the club as Real Betis were beaten 5-2 in La Liga. Griezmann, signed in July for £107m, swept in to equalise then scored a second goal five minutes after half-time.

In the Premier League Pep Guardiola hailed David Silva as "one of the best players" he has seen after he contributed to all three of Manchester City's goals in a convincing win at Bournemouth. Here’s more from BBC sport.

Golf - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won the Tour Championship for a second time to secure the FedEx Cup title. McIlroy, carded a final-round 66 to finish on 18 under par. = He pockets $15m (£12.2m) - a prize fund he has previously questioned.

Weather

Clear skies highs of 30 degrees in Antibes, Cannes, Nice and Monaco reaching 33 in Saint Tropez and the Var. A light southerly wind. Showers expected inland by the end of the day with lows of 24 degrees this evening.

The outlook, becoming increasingly cloudy on Tuesday highs of 32 degrees cooling down by Wednesday a little, with 28 degrees and rain forecast for both the Alpes Maritimes and the Var.

Finally 

Brexit countdown clocks have been banned from No10 by Downing Street staff who say it's too stressful.

After Boris became PM a clock was seen being posted into the famous street for his office. 

It counts down the days until BoJo has promised that Britain will finally leave the EU on October 31.

However, Alex Aiken, the civil service’s executive director of government communications, stepped in after Boris' advisers suggested putting one on every computer in No10. According to reports he thought it would be “too much pressure” for them to handle.

Ministers, key Whitehall staff and advisers have already been told to cancel all planned leave to get us ready to leave the EU, as the PM needs all hands on deck.

 

 

 

 

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