Evening Update Wednesday 12 November 2025
A man is in a critical condition in hospital after being found with wounds to his throat in Nice last night. The man, who had no identification on him, was found sitting in one of the blue chairs on the Promenade des Anglais. He reportedly had a wound of several centimetres to his throat. An investigation has been opened for attempted homicide.
A public security exercise simulating a terrorist attack is taking place at the commercial port of Toulon today. The prefecture said that gunshots may be heard. Drones will be used to capture images during the exercise. No action is expected from the public and port activities such as parking and water taxis are not affected and are operating normally. The objective of the exercise is to test a revised security plan and co-ordination between emergency services. To allow the services to work under real-life conditions, a security perimeter has been established around the exercise area, from the entrance of the commercial port to the ferry area.
The Northern Lights were visible last night in parts of our region. It’s unusual for the phenomenon, caused by solar eruptions hitting earth, to be visible in southern Europe. The reddish or greenish glow in the sky may be visible again tonight, probably in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
A teenage motorcyclist has died in northern France after refusing to stop at a police control. The 16 year old collided with a pole while trying to avoid a vehicle in Tourcoing in the Nord department. His 14 year old passenger was reportedly injured in the crash.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has announced the appointment of the head of France’s new National Anti-Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office. In a post on social media this morning, the minister said that Vanessa Perrée “is a highly skilled professional and specialist in money laundering, perfectly aligned with our objectives: to track drug trafficking and hit criminals where it hurts: their wallets”. The new organization is expected to be operational from 5 January.
Traffic on the ring road around Toulouse was heavily disrupted by farmers driving tractors this morning. They are protesting at President Macron’s views on an EU trade agreement with South American countries. The President is visiting Toulouse today.