Lunchtime News Monday 14th September 2020

Local

Two people wounded by gunshots in Marseille - Two people have been shot and wounded, including one seriously in the city centre of Marseille. The shooting occurred on Sunday evening at around 7pm.

Three people have been placed in police custody and an investigation has been opened to determine the reason behind the shooting which for the time being, police say is not thought to be related to drug trafficking.

Warm weather - The Var and the Alpes Maritimes is expected to experience particularly hot weather today breaking the normal temperatures for this time of year.

From the island of Porquerolles in the Var, to Eze in the Alpes-Maritimes 27 degrees was registered in the shade this morning at 10am. Météo-France is also forecasting higher than normal temperatures across France over the next three days.

Covid-19 - Three new positive cases for Covid-19 have been reported in the Principality on Sunday with the number of residents affected by the coronavirus standing at 171.

One resident is currently in intensive care and 37 are being cared for by the Home Monitoring Centre.

Mayor of Villeneuve Loubet plans legal action against wearing a mask - The mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet Lionnel Luca has announced plans to take legal action against the prefect’s obligation to wear a mask in the town.

New measures in the fight against Covid-19 have seen the prefect introduced the obligation to wear a mask in 18 of the most populated towns in the Alpes Maritimes.

The mayor reportedly considers the move to be “arbitrary, disproportionate and discriminatory”.

New measure to be announced later today in Bordeaux and Marseille - Meanwhile several announcements are expected later today in those regions considered to be the worst affected by the Covid-19. The prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the Gironde will present new measures intended to respond to the evolution of the health situation in Bordeaux at 3 pm, while in Marseille the regional prefect along with the police prefect, and the director of the regional health agency, will announce new measures at 5pm this evening during a joint press conference.

National

Camera’s for police - France’s Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has today announced, the generalisation of pedestrian cameras for the police "for July 1, 2021".

Speaking to French media this morning the minister acknowledged that the cameras currently in use "have a limited load", which does not allow them to be used during eight-hour patrols. "Currently, the instruction is to turn on the camera during an intervention” he said, promising that the new cameras being acquired "will last the length of the patrols".

When asked whether the police who did not activate their pedestrian camera would be sanctioned, Darmanin replied that this device was above all "there to protect them".

He said "It's a big police force, a big gendarmerie, you have to trust them, he insisted. He went on to say that “they are often people who are committed for the love of the nation and the protection of the weakest, and that in his view “the 'police bashing 'is really starting to annoy many French”.

On July 14th, Emmanuel Macron announced his desire to generalise pedestrian cameras "before the end of the five-year term", in order to "retrace the truth of the facts which make it possible to protect and to restore confidence".

 

 

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