French and Riviera News Monday 27th May 2019

Local

British man dies on yacht in Cannes - A 29-year-old Briton has died following a collision between two yachts in Cannes. The accident happened on Saturday the last night of the Cannes Film Festival, shortly after 9pm. According to the maritime prefecture the vessels, Vision and Minx collided the man was a Minx crew member and died following a heart attack, he had been hauling up the anchor at the time of the collision. The remaining 17 people on board the two vessels were returned to shore. The investigation continues. 

European Elections - In the Alpes-Maritimes the National Rally has taken the lead in the European elections with just over 30% of votes compared to 20% for the Republicans en marche and 12% for the green party. The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, called it a "historic defeat for the republicans" in the Alpes-Maritimes adding that it was "very disappointing and calling for dialogue if the right wants to continue to exist in the political landscape".

Overall the French far-right leader Marine Le Pen came out on top in France’s European Elections with 23.2 percent of the vote, in a blow for French President Emmanuel Macron.Shortly after exit polls were announced, Le Pen described the result as a “victory for the people" and called on Macron to dissolve the French parliament. French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe called the results “disappointing” but said it wouldn’t affect the government’s reform drive.

Drug trafficking - More than 7 tons of cannabis resin have been seized by the French Customs and Navy. The goods were on an offshore boat sailing a hundred kilometers from the Algerian coast. The drug was unloaded at the weekend at the naval base of Toulon. 232 packages of cannabis were seized in the operation conducted jointly by the customs and the Navy under the direction of the Maritime Prefect of the Mediterranean. Three traffickers of Turkish nationality were arrested

Low flying aircraft - An investigation has been opened into the flight course of a Boeing 767 above Nice on Sunday evening. Residents were left shocked by the plane flying at what witnesses described to be, very low altitude shortly after 8pm. According to Nice Côte d'Azur airport the plane of the company EuroAtlantic Airways, operating on behalf of the Norwegian Airlines, would have actually flown over the city "with an unusual approach but not off course, so no danger”. An accurate analysis of the approach of the aircraft is to be carried out today.

Cannes Film Festival - The Golden Palm top award at the 72nd Cannes Film festival has been awarded to Parasite, Gisaengchung. The 2019 Golden Palm was awarded on Saturday night by the French actress Catherine Deneuve. No surprise for the Best Actor Award that went to Antonio Banderas, the star of Pedro Almodovar's 36th film, Pain and Glory.

National 

Death sentence - Three Frenchmen have been sentenced to death by an Iraqi court after being found guilty of joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Kévin Gonot, Léonard Lopez and Salim Machou have 30 days to appeal. The three were among 12 French citizens captured in Syria by US-backed fighters. In February they were transferred to Iraq for trial. The three are the first IS suspects from France to be sentenced to death.

Manuel Valls - The former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has suffered a blow at the municipal elections in Barcelona on Sunday arriving fourth with about 13% of the vote, according to almost final results. The 56-year-old candidate presented himself as a "social-democrat" from "moderate Catalanism". Born in Barcelona, ​​Manuel Valls was raised in Paris by a Catalan father and an Italian-Swiss mother.

Business

Asia stocks edged up early on Monday, and the euro was confined to a narrow range after the weekend’s European Parliament elections highlighted the deepening political fragmentation of the 28-country bloc.

Fiat Chrysler is holding talks with French manufacture Renault at a time when the car industry has been hit by a slowdown in sales. The two firms are reportedly in discussions about how they can work together, potentially paving the way for a formal merger. Renault is already in an alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, in which they share many resources and suppliers. The move comes as car makers are being hammered by tariffs slapped on by US President Donald Trump, while customers are shunning diesel vehicles due to pollution concerns. A merger between Renault and Italy's Fiat would create the world's largest car manufacturer.

The founder of struggling fashion chain Monsoon Accessorize is preparing to throw it a £34 million lifeline. According to reports Peter Simon has said he will pump in the cash if landlords agree to cut rents, as part of what is known as a company voluntary agreement. Monsoon Accessorize has 271 stores, and no immediate closures are planned.

Sport

Formula One - In a nail biting Monaco Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton managed to hold off Max Verstappen winning the race here in the Principality on Sunday. Hamilton was beginning to sound "panicky" when speaking to the Mercedes team following a problem with his tyres. But similar to last year’s winner Daniel Ricciardo, who lost power and still managed to hold onto pole position Hamilton wearing a helmet painted in a design used by Niki Lauda as a tribute held on to take his fourth win of 2019. Verstappen dropped from second on the road to fourth in the results because of a five-second penalty, promoting Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to second and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to third.

Monegasque Charles Leclerc was left disappointed after suffering a puncture when he spun trying to pass Nico Hulkenberg's Renault for 11th place on lap eight.

Football – The chairman of Manchester City football club has said that the club "will unquestionably prevail" in the investigation by a UEFA panel into allegations they breached Financial Fair Play rules. In March, a German publication released files, including hacked emails, from Football Leaks which appeared to show City inflating sponsorship income. City deny any wrongdoing. 

Rugby Union - Back row forward Sean O'Brien has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup as he will be sidelined for up to six months recovering from hip surgery. A statement released on Sunday indicated that O'Brien will have surgery "in the next few weeks". O'Brien made his Ireland debut in 2009 and has won 56 caps despite struggling with a string of injuries.

Weather

Rain forecast in Nice and the Alpes Maritimes with highs of 21 degrees. Sunshine in Saint Tropez and the Var highs of 24 degrees, rain is expected by this afternoon. Moderate south easterly wind. This evening going down to 16 degrees with clear skies

The outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday. Some scattered showers to begin with clearing by the afternoon highs of 25 degrees on Wednesday clear skies and highs of 24 degrees.

Finally 

Men should get married to improve their wellbeing but women ‘shouldn’t bother’, according to a leading expert in happiness who says that unmarried, childless women are the happiest people in society.

Paul Dolan, professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, said that men benefit from marriage because they ‘calm down’, while the same wasn’t true for women.

‘The healthiest and happiest population sub-group are women who never married or had children.’

The study found that levels of happiness reported by those who were married were higher than the unmarried, but only when their spouse was in the room.

Unmarried individuals reported lower levels of misery than married individuals who were asked when their spouse was not present. 

 

 

 

 

 

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