French and Riviera News Thursday 9th May 2019

Local

Woman gives birth after going into labour on regional train - Passengers were left stunned on Wednesday evening after a woman who was traveling by train between Cannes and Nice went into labour. Following the intervention from emergency services at Cagnes sur mer train station, the woman gave birth to a baby girl.

Strike Action - As air traffic controllers continue strike action which began on Wednesday flights are expected to be cancelled at nine airports in France including Nice Côte d’Azur. Passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling.

Nine unions have called for strike action against planned changes to the public service in France which are to be presented to the French government on Monday. More than 100 protests are planned throughout France. Schools are also expected to be affected as teacher unions join the strike action.

Roadworks - It’s been announced that the Moyenne Corniche at Cap d’Ail will remain closed until the 17th of May. The road was closed after a landslide two weeks ago. It had been hoped to reopen the road on the 10th of May but the Mayor of Cap d’Ail Xavier Back said on Wednesday that it would remain closed for an additional week because of the complexity of the work involved. Work is expected to last 3 months in total with an alternating traffic system set up after the 17th.

Cannes Film Festival - Organiser’s of this year’s Cannes Film Festival have announced that the American actor Sylvester Stallone will be attending the festival on May 24th for the launch of Rambo V: Last Blood.

Yellow Vest movement - One person has been arrested on the sidelines of a gathering of Yellow Vests in Toulon. Yellow vest protestors met on Wednesday welcoming several leaders of the movement in Le Cannet-des-Maures. Various local reports put the number of protestors at between 500 and over 1,000. The protestors then headed to Toulon where reports say a paving slab was thrown at police, who responded with tear gas.

Aircraft carrier - The French army minister, Florence Parly, has confirmed that France will be building a second aircraft carrier.  Currently, France has only one aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle which is based in Toulon and is currently on operations in the Indian Ocean after its recent extensive refit in Toulon.

National

SNCF - As of today France’s rail network the SNCF has launched two new discount cards. The cards are targeted at young people, seniors and families as well as weekend travelers with 30% reductions for adults and 60% for children. With currently 2.5 million cardholders, the SNCF aims to reach 4 million by the end of 2020.

Panini - The Italian publisher best-known for its football sticker books, Panini has just released a new volume for fans of the greatest cycling race in the world, the Tour de France. The 106th edition of the race will kick off in Brussels on July 6th. Twenty-two professional teams will battle it out to be crowned champion on the Champs-Elysees and to wear the "maillot jaune" (yellow jersey). The new album celebrates the 100th anniversary of the yellow jersey and fans will have to acquire 352 stickers to complete it. They will feature all the athletes taking part, key stages, bikes, jerseys as well as some on the Tour's history.

Business

President Trump has said that China “broke the deal” in trade talks ,raising tensions ahead of fresh negotiations between the two sides.

The US leader’s comments came after Beijing said that it would “retaliate as necessary” if Washington raises tariffs on Chinese products.

Mr Trump has vowed to hike tariffs on more than 200 billion dollars of Chinese goods from tomorrow despite the fact that the two sides are due to hold talks in Washington later today.

Mr Trump accused China of breaking the deal that the US was negotiating on trade.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Florida ,he said “they can’t do that , so they’ll be paying”.

 

Shares in the ride-hailing firm Lyft have slumped to a fresh low after it reported  deep quarterly losses on Wednesday.

Lyft shares fell by 11 percent  after it reported a loss of 1.1 billion dollars for the quarter to the end of March although analysts praised its revenue growth.

Lyft shares are now down by 27 percent from their IPO price at the end of March.The firm now has a market capitalisation of 15 billion dollars.

The slump puts pressure on Uber  which is set to price its own IPO today.

Investors may be reluctant to invest in the firm given the performance of Lyft.

 

And-House price growth in the UK remained weak in April as the slump in London and the south east depressed the market.

The latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS reported an unchanged index with expectations for flat or declining sales across the UK for the next three months.

The UK’s protracted exit from the European Union has been weighing on the housing market for months  while landlords are increasingly likely to leave the sector because of changes to eviction laws and a ban on rental fees.

Sport

Football-The final of the European Champions League will be between Liverpool and Spurs.

Following Liverpool’s exploits against Barcelona on Tuesday night , Spurs pulled off another extraordinary result in their semi-final second leg tie at Ajax last night.

Spurs were trailing 1-0 from the first leg and they were two nil down on the night with 40 minutes to go before a second half hat trick from Lucas Moura including the winning goal on the night in the 5th minute of added time gave them a 3-2 victory to make the aggregate score 3-3 and take them through on the away goals rule.

It will be the first all English Champions League final since Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in 2008.

It could be an all English Europa League final too.

The semi final second leg ties are being played tonight.Valencia host Arsenal trailing 3-1 from the first leg while Chelsea host Eintracht Frankfurt with the scores tied at 1-1.

Cricket-The first one day international between England and Pakistan was abandoned because of persistent rain at the Oval on Wednesday.

The game was cut to 47 overs and then to 41 overs  and then finally abandoned with Pakistan on 80-2 in the 19 overs that were possible.

The second match is in Southampton on Saturday.

The one day international between Scotland and Afghanistan in Edinburgh without a ball being bowled.

Rugby Union-Danny Cipriani has been voted Player of the Year by the Rugby Players Association.

The 31 year old has helped Gloucester reach the English Premiership play-offs during his first season with the club although he hasn’t played for England since June last year.

Cipriani signed a new 3 year contract with Gloucester on the 2nd of April.

Weather

Clear skies with a moderate to strong westerly wind developing across the region with gusts of up to 55 km/h in coastal areas of the Var.

Top temperature 22 degrees Celsius.

Overnight lows of 14 degrees on the coast and 12 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.

Friday and the start of the weekend-Partially cloudy with highs of 18-23 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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