Didier Deschamps, coach of France’s national football team. Photo: mustapha_ennaimi
Didier Deschamps, no stranger to charitable efforts in the Principality, brought joy to one young fan of the French national football team on Sunday by turning up at a surprise birthday party for the seriously ill 13-year-old.
The French coach had responded to an invitation from the Monaco association “Friends of Lebanon Monaco” to join Renaud and his family at a Monaco coffee shop.
As special presents, Didier offered a gift of a shirt signed by all the French players and a football that he signed in the presence of the young fan.
The costs of a university life in France continue to rise at an unacceptable rate, according to the Unef union, which has called for concrete measures to alleviate the problems faced by young students.
The union is asking for more “social protection” for undergraduates and more investment in bursaries. The cost of accommodation for students, accounting for 55 percent of their total monthly outgoings, is of particular concern, Unef says.
Increased costs of lodging in 15 French university towns, together with higher transport costs, combine to make the life of students unacceptably high, the union claims. In Paris, rents for smaller flats are up by an average 1.38 percent over a year and by 0.5 percent in the rest of France. Six cities account for both an increase in rents and transport: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Orleans, Besançon and Nice.
Bordighera police detain man on suspicion of robbing Monaco citizen
Police from the Italian Riviera city of Bordighera have arrested a Maltese national on suspicion of having illegally detained and robbed an unidentified citizen of Monaco, the Independent of Malta reports.
Italian media said that a 29-year-old Maltese – identified only by his initials G.M. – had been arrested on Tuesday night by Italian police after a 30-year-old Monaco citizen ran out into the street and hailed a passing ambulance asking for help after having been robbed in a garage.
According to the alleged victim, at around 2 pm he had been invited by G.M., an acquaintance of his, to his home in Bordighera, apparently to show him a car he could possibly buy from him.
When the Monagasque entered the garage, instead of a car he found two other men who threatened him, beat him up by kicking and punching him, and took €900 from him saying it was money that the victim had taken from them.
The victim, who denied having taken any money from the Maltese and his companions, was held in the garage for at least an hour at the mercy of his captors and was able to escape when they were momentarily distracted. He ran into the road and saw a passing ambulance that he flagged down for help. The victim will be in recovery for at least 10 days, having sustained a number of bruises to the face and chest.
The Italian police apprehended the Maltese, but his accomplices are reportedly still being sought. He was arraigned and granted bail. Italian investigators are now examining the relationship between the victim and his assailants, as well as the motive behind the attack.
A fire broke out at about 6:30 pm on Sunday causing the evacuation of the restaurant Saint-Nicolas on the rue de l’Eglise, behind the courthouse and cathedral on the Rock. The fire had started on the roof of the building, which also houses apartments.
No one was injured and one elderly resident was taken to safety. The Monaco Fire Service had four tenders at the scene, where the fire was swiftly contained within 90 minutes. Further investigations into the cause of the fire continue.
What exactly happened last night in Juan-les-Pins?
Area cordoned off with about 40 to 50 police, military and emergency vehicles in Juans-les-Pins Sunday evening around 10:30 pm. Photo: SS/Monaco Life
Exactly one month after the Bastille Day attacks in Nice which left 85 dead and some 300 wounded, the sound of a firecracker reportedly thrown under a car next to a narrow pedestrian street in Juan-les-Pins Sunday evening around 10:30 pm is mistaken for a terrorist attack or explosion. Complete chaos ensues, as crowds of people run in every direction and cars try to escape centre-ville. The incident left 45 with minor injuries, and Nice-Matin reports 42 were taken to La Fontonne in Antibes, as well as hospitals in Cannes, Grasse and Pasteur II and Lenval in Nice; one casualty, a pregnant woman, remains in critical condition.
While the event seems to have moved on to the question of legally selling fireworks in today’s day and age, there are some people asking what really happened last night.
One source on the scene, who narrowly survived the July 14 attack in Nice, told Monaco Life exclusively that she and her husband were having a meal one street away on the beach when suddenly loads of people started running, some even into the sea. “We couldn’t believe it,” the anonymous source said. “Not again!” The reaction of physical fear kicked in pretty quickly she added, before describing the scene with “a lot of military presence and numerous sirens”.
As things died down quickly on the beach, and although people were pretty shaken up, the couple left to discover “a big area cordoned off with about 40 to 50 police, military and emergency vehicles”.
In her own words the witness recounts, “People were being taken away in stretchers, others were bandaged. I spoke to a guy who was a journalist and he said the official story was that the crowd heard a big noise and panicked then added, ‘I’m not a racist but all I can advise you is to vote Le Pen. This is not over.’
“Another man hobbled through the cordon and we asked him what happened and he said he wasn’t ‘supposed’ to say much but that he thought that carnage had just been averted.”
It’s difficult to know exactly what happened in Juan-les-Pins and while people are certainly on edge, there seems to be “a big effort to downplay it”.
Do you have a news story or were witness to an event? Email: editor@monacolife.net
A suspect bag at Nice Airport’s Terminal 2 caused the evacuation of the Air France check-in area on Monday morning and security measures were put in place inside and outside the terminal. The drop-off area was temporarily closed. The easyJet check-in area was not affected.
Earlier in the morning two other pieces of luggage had been found apparently abandoned in Terminal 2. An airport spokesperson said that forgetful passengers were the cause of the scare. The restrictions were lifted at 12:36 pm.
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Police from the Italian Riviera city of Bordighera have arrested a Maltese national on suspicion of having illegally detained and robbed an unidentified citizen of Monaco, the Independent of Malta reports.
