French Villa Holiday News.

French News, Fri 24 April 2009

The official list of entrants for this year’s Cannes Film Festival was unveiled yesterday. Quentin Tarantino's World War II saga Inglourious Basterds tops the list of contenders for the Palme d’Or. Others include Ken Loach's Looking for Eric, starring French footballer Eric Cantona, and the latest films from Ang Lee, Pedro Almodovar and Jane Campion. Twenty films will compete for the coveted Palme d'Or at this year's event, which runs from 13 to 24 May. Tarantino won the top honour in 1994 with his second film Pulp Fiction. The 46-year-old is the only American director in contention for the prize, won last year by French school drama The Class.

150 reasons to celebrate

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi will today outline 150 projects to mark the 150th anniversary of the reattachment of Nice to France. There will be five major themes for the projects; a green City, historic city, a bright city, a dynamic city and a city on the move. The anniversary of reattachment of Nice is 10 June.

More public housing

171 new public housing apartments were yesterday officially inaugurated in the Bon Voyage area of Nice. It is part of a massive program to upgrade the standard of housing in the city, and destroy sub-standard apartment blocks in the Ariane area.

New swim record

Antibes swimmer Alain Bernard yesterday became the first person to register a time under 47 seconds for the 100 metres freestyle. He clocked 46”94 during the semi-finals of the French championships. It is the fourth career world record for Bernard.

'The Jungle' closing
The French Government is set to remove a camp where illegal migrants gather near the port of Calais to try crossing to Britain. In a move local residents and businesses will welcome, French Immigration Minister Eric Besson also said Britain needed to do more to help tackle the problem and that the two countries would discuss possible steps.The Jungle, as the makeshift tent city is known locally, sprang up after France closed a large Red Cross centre at nearby Sangatte in 2002 under pressure from Britain.

Election result annulled

France's highest court yesterday annulled the 2008 election of a mayor in the southern town of Perpignan, after the head of a polling station tried to change the result by smuggling in ballots in his socks. When the votes for the election were counted in March last year, polling station head Georges Garcia was caught with ballots supporting Jean-Paul Alduy, a member of France's ruling UMP party, in his pockets and socks. Garcia was then caught again trying to get rid of envelopes containing ballots. The Council of State, France's highest court, confirmed a lower court ruling that annulled the vote. The election will be held again at a date to be fixed.

SPORT

Football - Southampton have effectively been relegated from the English Championship after being docked 10 points by the Football League. The former Premier League club who were relegated from the top flight in 2005 now face playing in the 3rd tier of English football for the first time since 1960. The league decided they should be docked points after the parent company Southampton Leisure Holdings went into administration.
Roy Keane says he thinks he can guide Ipswich Town to promotion next season. The former Manchester United star has signed a two year deal at Portman Road and takes charge of his first game tomorrow.


The weekend's Premier League games could help to sort out some of the issues at the bottom of the table. Bolton play Aston Villa. Everton host Manchester City. Fulham play Stoke. Hull host Liverpool. Manchester United play Tottenham. West Brom face Sunderland and West Ham play Chelsea. On Sunday, Arsenal play Middlesboro and Blackburn play Wigan.


In the French first division the leaders Marseilles are away at Lille tomorrow. Monaco travel to Le Mans and Nice host St Etienne.


Formula One - The future of the British Grand Prix is in doubt again today after legal proceedings were started against the company leasing the Donnington Park track. The track owners Wheatcroft and Son are seeking 2 point 47 million pounds in rent arrears from Donnington Ventures Leisure as well as forfeiture of the lease. D.V.L secured the 150 year lease in 2007.The circuit has a 10 year contract to host the race starting next year. Wheatcroft and Son say they regret taking legal action but the money has been owing since September last year and has not been forthcoming despite numerous assurances of payment by D.V.L.


The fourth race of the Formula 1 season takes place in Bahrain this Sunday. Jenson Button leads the drivers championship with 21 points from Brawn GP Teammate Rubens Barrichello. First practice for Sunday’s race gets underway at 9am French time this morning.


Cricket - Michael Vaughan was out for 24 on day two of the County Championship game between Durham and Yorkshire at The Riverside on Thursday as he attempts to force his way back into the England reckoning. The former England skipper was caught behind off the bowling of Steve Harmison who’s also struggling to regain his England place.


Tennis - Rafael Nadal has been handed a bye into the semi finals of the Barcelona Open after his opponent in the quarters David Nalbandian withdrew with a hand injury. The world number one will now play either Radek Stepanek or Nikolay Davydenko.


Athletics - A protest by Tamil’s in the centre of London may force the organisers of the London Marathon to change the race route on Sunday. A Protest by Tamil’s has been taking place in Parliament Square since the start of the month. Race organisers have been holding a series of meetings to discuss whether the route should be changed to avoid the protest.

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And finally, a police officer in Scotland has confessed to following the Jedi faith beloved of Star Wars film fans, respected policing analysis group Jane's reported Thursday. Pam Fleming, a 45-year-old beat officer in Glasgow for Strathclyde Police, said that she thought all police officers "should be Jedis," when interviewed by Jane's Police Review. "For me, it is not a joke," she said. "Being a Jedi is a way of life. "I love the Star Wars films and the concept of being a Jedi, that the faith is not divisive." Fleming said she knew of other Jedis in Strathclyde Police -- the force apparently has eight in total.