Lunchtime News - Monday July 20th 2020

Missing Tourist-Gendarmes in St Tropez are seeking information about a missing tourist who hasn’t been seen since the 16th of July.

Olivier Tetart who’s 54 was staying at a campsite at Ramatuelle and hasn’t been seen since the afternoon of Thursday the 16th of July.

He is 1 meter 75 tall of medium build and has a shaved head. When last seen he was wearing a white t-shirt with the ‘Airness’ logo ,grey blue shorts and black ‘croc’ shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call Gendarmes in St Tropez on 04 94 97 26 25.

 

Shots fired-Police have sealed off the Moulins area of Nice after gun shots were heard in the district this morning.

A large police operation is underway in a bid to find the perpetrator.

Reports say the shots were heard shortly after a gang of men was seen chasing an individual along the street at around 9am this morning.

The Moulins area has a persistently high crime rate and has been labelled as a priority security zone by authorities.

 

Masks-Face masks are now mandatory in closed public spaces including shops and supermarkets with fines of 135 euros for non-compliance.

The move comes as French authorities attempt to stamp out new Covid-19 infections with the reproduction rate ‘R’ creeping up around the country.

In the Provence Alps Cote d’Azur region the ‘R’ currently stands at 1.55 and the region is back in the red zone.

The increased rate of infections is mainly due to a spike in cases in the Marseilles area.

Government buildings and recreational businesses such as bowling alleys and gyms are also covered by the regulations.

Private offices are not included with the government saying that it’s up to individual businesses to decide.

 

Speeding-Police and gendarmes in the south of France say that the number of serious speeding cases on the region’s roads over the weekend has been ‘truly shocking’.

Authorities have compared some of the incidents to ‘torpedoes on wheels’.

The worst offence was registered in the Plaine du Var on the outskirts of Nice on Saturday night when the driver of a British registered Bentley was caught doing 253 km/h.

11 separate offences in which drivers were doing speeds in excess of 40 km/h above the legal speed limit were registered on the A8 between 8pm and 11pm on Saturday night involving another Bentley as well as Mini Cooper and a Mercedes ML.

 

 

Rare cars- Members of the public have until tomorrow to see an exhibition of rare cars on the place du Casino here in Monaco.

The cars are part of the collection owned by His Serene Highness Prince Albert the Second and are being auctioned off at the Hotel Hermitage tomorrow.

One of the most beautiful vehicles is a Mercedes 300 SL which has been estimated to be worth 3.4 million euros.

There are also 5 rare Ferraris including an F430 Scuderia Spider 16M and a 488 Pista Spider which has only done 25 kilometers since it rolled off the production line.

 

In National News.

 

Clusters-The French Health Minister Olivier Veran has said that there are now between 400 and 500 coronavirus clusters in parts of the country from Brittany to the Mayenne and eastern France.

Mr Veran says that the uptick in cases albeit from a low base is the reason why face masks are now mandatory in closed public spaces.

The Minister has moved to calm fears about the spread of the virus and says that severe infections requiring hospital treatment are not at a high rate and that there is no question of a second wave at the moment.

He’s appealed to the public to be vigilant and to maintain social distancing and good hand hygiene.

 

Air France-Air France has announced that it will be resuming flights between Nice Cote d’Azur Airport and Paris Orly on the 24th of July.

The company says that it will be providing 4 daily flights to and from the French capital and passengers can reserve immediately.

Air France is already offering services to and from other cities in the country including Bordeaux ,Lyon and Strasbourg.

There are also two weekly flights to Athens and reservations can be made at www.airfrance.fr

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