French News

French News, Mon 20 April 2009

Mont Boron tunnel

Long a dream of motorists, a tunnel beneath Nice’s Mont Boron could become a reality within a decade. The latest proposal is for a 400 metre long bi-directional tunnel which could accommodate 20-thousand vehicles a day. It is believed a 1-euro-50 toll would help finance the cost of the 125-million euro project.

Satellite dish crackdown

Authorities across the Alpes-Maritimes are expected to launch a crackdown on television satellite dishes. Dishes which exceed 1 metre and have been erected without a permit could be removed. Others that have been installed without permission from co proprieties will also be taken down.

Shopkeeper anger

Restaurateurs and store owners in Nice’s rue de France are petitioning to have the existing pedestrian zone extended. They claim their businesses are suffering because potential customers stop when they reach the end of the car-free zone.

Back to school

French carmaker Renault is going back to school to re-educate its sales force. In preparation for a future recovery in the vehicle trade, Renault will be at the CERAM business school during the start of this week.

Renault business class

A man described as the military leader of the Basque separatist group Eta has been captured in south-western France. Jurdan Martitegi was detained with two other suspected Eta members yesterday near Perpignan in a joint Franco-Spanish security operation. Another six suspected Eta members were detained in Bilbao and other cities.

Caterpillar dispute breakthrough

A long-running industrial dispute at the Caterpillar factories at Grenoble and Echirolles may have been settled. The two month stand-off may come to an end after nine hours of talks yesterday in Paris. The unions have successfully reduced the number of jobs to be axed. The measures will now be put to a vote of workers.

SPORT

Tennis - Rafael Nadal has continued his magnificent run in Monte Carlo by winning the Rolex Masters title for a fifth consecutive year. The world number one beat the number 3 seed Novak Djokovic in Sundays final in three sets 6-3 2-6 6-1. Nadal who’s still only 22 was pushed hard by Djokovic who dominated the second set and also had some break points at the start of the third but he stepped up a gear shortly afterwards and took the third set with eventual ease. The Spaniard has now equalled Roger Federer’s mark of 14 tournament wins in the elite Masters 1000 series. Only Andre Agassi has won more with 17 titles. His victory over Djokovic came in 2 hours and 44 minutes and extends his winning streak in Monte Carlo to 27 matches. He takes home 434 thousand euros in prize money. The doubles final was won by the second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic who beat top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4 6-1.

Formula One - Sebastien Vettel once again showed how skilful he is in wet conditions by winning the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Monday thus securing Red Bull’s first ever victory in the sport.Vettel led home a Red Bull one, two with teammate Mark Webber grabbing his best ever finish in second place. Jenson Button in the Brawn GP was third with his teammate Rubens Barrichello fourth. The McLarens showed some improvement with Heikki Kovaleinen in fifth and world champion Lewis Hamilton sixth. But It was another miserable weekend for the Ferarri’s.Felipe Massa didn’t finish the race and Kimi Raikonnen was out of the points in 10th. It’s Ferarri’s worst start to the season since 1981. So after 3 races Jenson Button leads the drivers’ championship with 21 points ahead of Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello who’s got 15. Sebastien Vettel is in equal 3rd place with 10 points along with Toyota’s Timo Glock.

Football - The 2009 F.A Cup final in England will be between Chelsea and Everton who beat Manchester United in the semi final yesterday. There was 1 game in the Championship in England on Sunday, Ipswich won the East Anglian derby against Norwich by 3 goals to 2.The defeat leaves Norwich stuck in the relegation zone. In Scotland on Sunday Rangers were 3 two away winners at Hibs in the SPL. The gap at the top between leaders Celtic and Rangers is just one point again. In the French first division Marseille stay top of the table following a 2-1 win at L’Orient on Sunday.On Saturday Monaco beat Rennes 3-1 and Nice lost two nil at Nantes.

Cricket - Andrew Flintoff comes up against Kevin Pietersen later today in the Indian Premier League as the Chennai Super Kings meet the Bangalore Royal Challengers. The two had contrasting fortunes in the opening games with Flintoff’s Chennai side going down to the Mumbai Indians while Pietersen’s Royal Challengers beat Shane Warne’s Rajastan Royals.
Rugby Union - Bath are back in the Guinness Premiership play off places thanks to a narrow 15 points to 14 win at Bath on Sunday. In the other games yesterday Leicester guaranteed themselves a play off place with a 16 points to 13 win at Saracens while Wasps were 36 points to 18 winners at Bristol.

Yourcotedazur now publishes the French regional news for people interested in Holiday Home Rental in France and
French Villa Holidays.

And finally, a Spanish builder with big debts kidnapped his bank manager at gunpoint and demanded a 50,000 euro loan plus his luxury car, police in the southern city of Malaga said on Friday. "He needed money urgently, the company had stacked up large debts recently," a spokeswoman said. The builder accosted his bank manager in a car park near the bank in the Mediterranean resort of Marbella on Tuesday, and told him, falsely, that accomplices had taken his family hostage. The builder then forced the executive to drive 20 km to Estepona, sign over his luxury car and transfer 1,500 euros to the builder's bank account. The banker persuaded his kidnapper to let him call a colleague and told him, in code, that he had been kidnapped. Police tracked them down to an office in the town and seized the kidnapper as they left the building.