Local
Football match interrupted - The French Ligue 1 match between Nice-Marseille has been interrupted due to homophobic songs and banners. The fourth game of the season which took place at the Allianz Riviera in Nice on Wednesday evening was interrupted for ten minutes by the referee because of homophobic remarks from supporters in the stands. It’s not the first time that a game has been interrupted due to homophobic behavior from supporters the Disciplinary Committiee of the Professional Football League is to judge 18 cases in both Ligue 1 and 2. On August 16, the match between Nancy-Le Mans, was stopped for a few minutes and last weekend Brest-Reims and Monaco-Nîmes were also briefly interrupted. Last night’s match was the first for OGC Nice since being taken over by the company belonging to Sir Jim Ratcliffe the British billionaire.
The bells - French police are hunting for thieves who have stolen bells from a number of churches in Provence over the past month. Several towns in the region have all had bronze bells stolen from their churches. The public prosecutor said that the bells are either being sold on or melted down for the bronze. It is unclear if the robberies are all linked.
In Ginasservis, about 80km northeast of Marseilles, the first town to be targeted bells dating from 1867 and 1737 were stolen from two different chapels in the town.
A fourth suspect in the Nice attack of July 2016 has been released from custody. The 43-year-old man, who had been detained since the 21st of July 2016, was released, but required to wear an electronic tag, following a court order earlier this month.
Edouard Philippe visits the Var on Friday - French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe accompanied by the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, will attend a meeting with teachers on Friday morning, at the high school of Val d'Argens in Le Muy, in the Var. Édouard Philippe and Jean-Michel Blanquer plan to discuss with teachers and staff the implementation of the reforms to education.
The meeting comes just after Jean-Michel Blanquer announced on Wednesday a pay rise for teachers in 2020. A measure planned, but not in place by the previous government. Blanquer promises an annual rise of "on average 300 euros".
A fundraising appeal has been launched to help a 12 year old from Nice who was seriously injured in a diving accident in Corsica last month. Arthur has lost the use of his limbs since the accident but is reported to be breathing without assistance and to be making progress. His uncle has started the fundraising effort to help him regain the use of his limbs and to gain access to the best medical care.
Driving offences - Paris and the Principality have signed an agreement to improve the exchange of information concerning driving offences. Although Monaco has only 40,000 inhabitants, they committed more than 100,000 road traffic offenses last year in France.
Monegasque drivers will soon pay their fines when they are flashed in France with the principality and Paris accelerating the exchange of information. Since 2016, the authorities of the two countries are already exchanging, but thanks to the agreement that has just been concluded, these exchanges will become systematic. In 2018, 17 countries of the European Union agreed to communicate to France the identity of flashed drivers. More than two and a half million tickets were issued that year. Belgium leads with 418,000 tickets, followed by Spain with 394,000 fines and Germany with 348,000. The United Kingdom, Sweden and Ireland have been cooperating only since the beginning of the year. On the other hand, Finland, Denmark, Croatia and Bulgaria do not exchange information.
Ecological moorings being introduced in the region- Several coastal villages and towns in the region have announced plans to introduced new measures to control the mooring of vessels introducing “environmentally friendly anchors”. The largest project in the region has been undertaken by Le Rayol Canadel in the Var. With 120 moorings during the summer season the anchorage is now adapted to the seabed and at the same time ensure better safety for vessels moored in the bay. Port Cros, Villefranche-sur-mer, Beaulieu-sur-mer and the beaches bays of Saint Tropez are now looking to introduce this new type of ecological mooring.
National
US not to contribute to 20-million-dollar package - A spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House has announced that the United States will not contribute to the $ 20 million package proposed by the G7 to fight fires in the Amazon. French President Emmanuel Macron had hinted that all members of the G7 (USA, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada), meeting at the G7 summit last weekend would participate in the emergency aid. Speaking on Monday Macron assured that "The United States is with us on biodiversity as well as the Amazon initiative,".
Medef uses Sex Pistol slogan - French business group Medef has chosen to use a punk slogan based on lyrics from the 1977 Sex Pistols anthem “God Save the Queen” in the title and theme of its annual conference, which opened on Wednesday. Medef, France’s union representing business leaders, meets for a late-summer conference every year to discuss its priorities and position on upcoming government reforms. The title of this year’s instalment, “No(s) futur(s)”, plays on the French phrase “nos futurs” (our future) with “no future”, a lyric from the 1977 single also included on the album Never Mind the Bollocks: Here’s the Sex Pistols.
Business
The pound fell to a six-day low on Wednesday after Boris Johnson revealed plans to suspend parliament next month. Suspending parliament will restrict MPs' ability to block the UK crashing out of Europe without a deal, something that has worried investors. Shortly after the fall, the Queen approved the prime minister's request for parliament to be suspended in the week beginning 9 September until 14 October.
Apple has apologised following revelations that it paid third-party workers to listen to voice recordings of Siri users. The practice known as "grading" has been used by several tech firms as a way of improving the quality of speech recognition. However, Apple, Google and Microsoft all halted such work recently, following public outcry. Apple said it plans to resume grading - but only for Siri users who opt in.
Troubled travel firm Thomas Cook says it has agreed a rescue deal with investor Fosun Tourism, its banks and a majority of its bondholders. The UK tour operator said in July it was working to secure new investment from Fosun, a major shareholder. The new deal would see the Chinese group take control of the business at the expense of other shareholders.
There are only hours left to make a claim for mis-sold payment protection insurance, as one of the UK's biggest financial scandals draws to a close. Billions of pounds have already been paid out in PPI compensation ahead of the 23:59 deadline on Thursday. PPI was designed to cover loan repayments when policyholders fell ill or lost their jobs.
But banks and loan providers mis-sold millions of policies to people who did not need them or would not be covered. Some 64 million policies were sold in total, mainly between 1990 and 2010. While new claims end on 29 August, the impact of the mis-selling scandal will be felt for years to come.
Sport
Tennis – Roger Federer came from a set down to beat Damir Dzumhur 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 to reach the US Open third round. The world number three hit 17 unforced errors in losing the first set. But the Swiss five-time champion dominated the remainder of the match. Victory for the 38-year-old sets up a third-round match against either Britain's Dan Evans or Frenchman Lucas Pouille at Flushing Meadows.
Meanwhile Britons Johanna Konta and Dan Evans will play their US Open second-round matches on today after rain forced the cancellation of Wednesday's schedule on the outside courts.
Football – Uefa will name its Men's Player of the Year today with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk up against Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi for the award.
Rugby Union - Mako Vunipola is set to miss England's final Rugby World Cup warm-up game against Italy with a hamstring injury. He is only expected to be out for around 10 days which shouldn't affect his involvement in the World Cup.
Cycling - Angel Madrazo won the first summit finish of the Vuelta a Espana as Miguel Angel Lopez reclaimed the overall lead after stage five. The 74th edition of La Vuelta finishes in Madrid on 15 September.
Weather
Clear skies some cloud by this afternoon in the Alpes Maritimes with storms forecast inland. Highs of 29 in Nice, Cannes, and Antibes. 31 degrees in Saint Raphael and Toulon. With a moderate north westerly wind. This evening going down to 22 degrees in the Alpes Maritimes and 20 degrees in the Var.
The outlook for Friday clear skies to being risk of showers in the afternoon and inland with highs of 32 degrees.
Finally
Could the position you sleep in give away if you've cheated on your other half? According to new research, unfaithful partners who have secretly strayed reveal tell-tale signs in the way they snuggle up at night.
The most popular sleep position according to the poll - adopted by 34 per cent of couples - is one known as 'The Separation'; where partners will sleep facing apart with a space in-between.
While this can indicate couples in a secure relationship who don't feel the need to show affection in their sleeping posture, it is also the most popular position when one partner is being unfaithful. That is because the adulterer is wary of getting too close to their spouse in bed in case giveaway signs of cheating, such as the smell of another person's perfume or aftershave, are evident.
Gabriel Attal announced new measures In response to recent acts of violence among young people during a visit to Viry-Châtillon. Attal highlighted the...
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The owners of a vast floating artificial island that had been planned for last summer off the coast of Mandelieu have won a legal battle to be allowed...
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The Monegasque State has successfully conducted its first national voluntary surrender operation, with 123 firearms being handed over by private indiv...
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A hospital in Cannes has had to postpone all non-urgent consultations and operations after falling victim to a cyberattack....
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Potential presence of broken glass in pizzas. A recall has been issued for several pizzas distributed by Auchan Avallon in France due to the potential...
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