French and Riviera News Tuesday 28th May 2019

Local

Missing - Police have launched an appeal for a missing person. 68 year old Chrisitane Gibelli from Cap D’ail, who suffers from Alhzeimer’s was last seen on March 31st. At the time she was hiking with her husband in Castellar. Police would especially like to speak to a couple who were at the time picnicking along the walkway. Gibelli is described as having short brown hair and was wearing green trousers and a white t-shirt. Anyone with any information is invited to contact the police. The details are on our website rivieraradio.mc (04 92 17 21 20 ou 04 92 17 22 21).

Collision between two yachts - The investigation continues into the death of a 29 year old British crew member after a collision between two charter yachts in the bay of Cannes on Saturday.     Police have said that they believe that “speed was the main factor”. Taken into police custody on Sunday the 42 year old French captain of the 30 meter yacht “Vision” reportedly confirmed that at the time of the collision his yacht was doing 15 knots in an area limited to 5 knots. He has since been released and placed on judicial control charged for non-compliance with regulations and manslaughter. He will appear in court in Marseille.

Road accident - A 39 year old man has been air lifted to hospital in Toulon following a road accident in Cogolin in the Var. The accident occurred on Monday evening on the RD98. The victim is reported to have suffered multiple head injuries and police have appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

Air pollution - A new survey published on Monday has confirmed the harmful effects of air pollution from traffic on the region’s roads and its effect on human health. The study focused on the ten largest French urban areas including Nice. The air quality was evaluated on 91 days of public transport strike action between 2010 and 2015. Results showed that due to public transport strike action there was a significant increase in A&E admissions due to people suffering from breathing related illnesses.

Hospital - Hospital unions in Nice have once again highlighted "the crisis" which is hitting hospitals in Nice due to lack of staff. Eight months ago two professors from Hospital Pasteur 2 criticised the lack of equipment in operating theatres along with the lack of staff. According to the unions nothing has changed and currently only five out of the twenty operating theatres at Pasteur are being used. 

Petition - A petition to save the ticket office at the Golfe-Juan-Vallauris train station has collected nearly 1,000 signatures in just one week. While the SNCF has claimed that the station will remain open, locals fear that the move is yet another “loss of public services” to the area.

National

Lyon attack - French police have arrested four people over an explosion in the heart of Lyon last week which injured 13 people. The suspected bomber, a 24-year-old Algerian citizen, was arrested along with his mother, his father and another Algerian student who is a family friend. The suspect is an IT student previously unknown to police. Thirteen people were wounded in the blast of whom 11 needed hospital treatment. France has been on high alert following a wave of deadly terror attacks since 2015 which have killed more than 250 people. The Islamic State group has been behind many of the attacks. No one has claimed responsibility for the Lyon blast.

Death penalty - France’s foreign ministry has said in a statement that it would take “the necessary steps” to prevent Iraq from carrying out capital punishment against its citizens as an Iraqi court has condemned a fourth French citizen to death for joining the Islamic State. “France is opposed in principle to the death penalty at all times and in all places,” the foreign ministry said on Monday. In recent months Iraq has taken custody of thousands of IS militants, including foreigners captured in neighbouring Syria, among them are 12 French citizens. The trials have been criticised by rights groups, which say they often rely on evidence obtained through torture. France, has long insisted that its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial locally, refusing to repatriate them despite the risk of capital punishment.

European elections - Following the results of the European elections at the weekend 72% of French people have called for a fundamental change of policy after the defeat of the presidential party. The poll published on Monday shows that a large majority of French people want a change of course, even if it means reshuffling the government. The National Rally came first in the Elections with 23.31% ahead of the Republic en Marche with 22.41%. 58% of those questioned believe that Emmanuel Macron must draw the political consequences of the vote by conducting a reshuffle.

Smoking - Ahead of World no smoking day, which takes place on Friday, figures published this morning have shown that smoking caused 75,000 deaths in France in 2015 that’s one in eight deaths. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in France with men being particularly affected, as 19% of men who died in 2015 died fromtobacco compared with 7% of women. However, in the long run, the trend is unfavorable to women. As between 2000 and 2015, the number of deaths attributable to smoking among men decreased by 11%, while it was multiplied by 2.5 for women.

Business

Fiat Chrysler and Renault are to pursue a 35 billion dollar merger in a bid to combat upheaval in the car industry.

If it goes ahead ,the tie-up would create the world’s 3rd largest carmaker behind Volswagen and Toyota  and would alter the landscape for other manufacturers such as General Motors and the PSA group which makes Peugeot and Citroen vehicles.

Renault said that it was studying the proposal with interest and viewed it favourably .

Shares in both firms jumped by 10 percent on the news as investors welcomed the prospect on an enlarged business capable of producing more than 8.7 million vehicles a year and aiming for 5 billion euros in annual savings.

 

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is considering raising up to 20 billion dollars through a secondary listing in Hong Kong.

Reuters is reporting that sources familiar with the matter say that the firm is planning a second mega-deal following its 2014 record 24 billion dollar floatation on the New York Stock exchange.

The deal ,which would be the 6th biggest follow-on share sale ever would give Alibaba the financial firepower to keep investing heavily in technology  which is a priority for China  as growth flags and the world’s second-largest economy faces an escalating trade dispute with the US.

 

And-Canada has taken a step forward to ratifying a new North American trade agreement  just three days ahead of a visit to Ottawa by the US Vice-President Mike Pence.

The Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland presented a motion to the Canadian House of Commons on Monday which will open the way for a formal introduction of a bill.

The deal which is known as USMCA would replace the 25 year old North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) but is yet to be approved by the legislatures of the three participating countries Canada ,Mexico and the United States.

Mike Pence is due to meet the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday.

 

Sport

Football-Aston Villa have won promotion to the English Premier League after beating Derby County 2-1 in the Championship playoff final at Wembley on Monday.

Villa scored on 44 and 59 minutes and although Waghorn pulled a goal back for Derby on 81 minutes ,they held on through a nervy end to the game and join Norwich and Sheffield United in the top division next season.

Tennis-Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are both safely through to the second round of the French Open at Roland Garros.

Djokovic beat Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in straight sets while Nadal  beat the German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 6-1 6-3.

In the women’s event Serena Williams survived a scare against Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia before coming through in three sets  but the Wimbedon champion Angelique Kerber and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki both lost.

Johanna Konta of Great Britain made round 2 for the first time after beating Antonia Lottner 6-4 6-4.

Rugby Union-Ireland’s back row forward Sean O’Brien will miss the World Cup after being sidelined for 6 months for hip surgery.

The 32 year old has been told that the operation can’t wait and he’s to undergo surgery within the next few weeks.

The injury is a huge blow for Ireland  and means that coach Joe Schmidt will have to forge a new back row combination before the tournament.

Cricket-England thrashed Afghanistan by 9 wickets in their final World Cup warm-up game at The Oval on Monday.

Afghanistan batted first and were bowled out for 160 in just 38.4 overs.

England got to the total in 17.3 overs in a total of 161-1 which included a typically cavalier 89 not out from Jason Roy.

There are two more warm-up games today.Bangladesh play India in Cardiff and West Indies play New Zealand in Bristol.

The World Cup starts on Thursday with the hosts England playing South Africa at The Oval.

Weather

Hazy sunshine with some rain and scattered thunderstorms forecast for the Alpes-Maritimes this afternoon.

A moderate to strong Mistral developing across the Var later with gusts of up to 70 km/h in coastal areas.

Top temperatures 20-22 degrees Celsius.

Overnight lows of 16 degrees on the coast and 12 degrees inland with clear skies.

Wednesday and Thursday-Mainly fine with highs of 21-24 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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