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Day: 13 August 2020

Traffic “red alerts” forecast for this weekend

by: Stephanie Horsman
13/08/2020

The weekend’s traffic situation is looking rough for those who are both leaving or returning from holidays.

Bison Futé, the French government’s traffic site, has forecast red level traffic warnings for departures and orange level for arrivals into the region this weekend.

Traffic is expected to be extremely heavy on the A8 and A50 on this holiday weekend, and patience will need to be the byword for travellers.

Specifically, traffic on the A8 between Aix-en-Provence and the Italian border will most likely see persistent traffic on urban area exits. On Friday, motorway traffic will be heavy in both directions roughly between 10am and 7pm. Saturday isn’t looking much better, with “sustained traffic” between 9am and 7pm on the section of the motorway from Antibes to Nice.

The A50 is expecting heavy traffic from Aubagne to Toulon on Friday at rush hours, and again on Saturday from mid-afternoon into the evening, then again most of the day Sunday.

Police urge caution on the roads this weekend and ask drivers to take particular care.

 
 

First post-Covid yacht show to be held in Cannes

by: Stephanie Horsman
13/08/2020

The Monaco Yacht Show may not be going ahead this year, however industry professionals will still be able to attend the Cannes Yachting Festival, which is set to take place in a few short weeks.

The 43rd annual Cannes Yachting Festival is being held from 8th to 13th September and will feature over 400 boats in the city’s two marinas, with motorboats in the Vieux Port and sailboats in Port Canto.

“The first criteria was to confirm the content. It’s not a matter of numbers, it’s a matter of who is coming,” The organiser of the show, Sylvie Ernoult, told Super Yacht Times. “Cannes is a very eclectic show with a good range of boats. That’s the real power of the show – that’s its DNA. So, it doesn’t matter if a big player who used to come with 15 boats comes with 10 boats this year, it’s just important that they are there.” 
“The second thing was, of course, health and safety. Once we knew our clients wanted to come, we had to ensure we could protect them, staff, and guests,” added Ms Ernoult. “Our dedicated sanitary team has been working with UNIMEV (a French organisation that ensures environmental safety at events) to make a plan – and that plan was recently accepted by the government and validated by the international body, Apave.” 
The show will necessarily be smaller as social distancing protocols must be put in place, but organisers are anticipating an excellent turnout for exhibitors, with up to 90% of the usual companies present, many featuring world premieres, others featuring their latest creations.  
One big difference this year is that there will not be any parties, though individual boats can host events so long as they remain in compliance with the rules.  
Despite that, the organisers are expecting many visitors who are ready for “real-life” events after the endless stream of online facsimiles of the past several months.
“We know that real-life boat shows are important: to see it, experience it and be there,” said Ms Ernoult. “So for me, opening the first boat show where exhibitors can talk to their existing clients, talk to potential new clients, talk to the press, re-develop their B2B relationships and present their new collections is so important for the industry, and I’m excited for it.”
 
Photo by Cannes Yachting Festival
 

Only surgical masks allowed on flights

by: Cassandra Tanti
13/08/2020

Passengers flying to and from France will only be allowed onboard flights if they are wearing single-use, ‘surgical’ masks. Material face coverings will not be accepted, according to a new government rule.
France has tightened its regulations across the board recently with regards to mask wearing, including on flights. French authorities are enforcing new rules for travellers, saying they must wear the single use, blue/white or green/white masks.
French legislation states that: “All persons aged 11 or over shall, on board an aircraft engaged in public transport to, from or within the national territory, [must] wear the protective mask referred to in section I of Article 49 from the moment of boarding.”
The article says that these protective masks must be EN 14683, or “standard, single-use surgical masks”.
While easyJet is informing customers of this requirement via email, SMS and Flight Tracker ahead of departure, others, such as Ryanair, are less specific, stating on its website only that “face masks are required”.
Photo by Monaco Life, all rights reserved
 
 

Conor McGregor confirmed for team Notorious

by: Cassandra Tanti
13/08/2020

It’s been revealed that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor will join team Notorious for The Crossing: Calvi – Monaco Water Bike Challenge, in a not-so surprising announcement on Thursday.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight champion was spotted water bike training alongside Princess Charlene in Corsica in July, so the only questions remaining was which team would Conor McGregor join? Considering his nickname is ‘The Notorious’, it comes as no surprise that he will be one of four members of team Notorious, lead by Princess Charlene’s brother and General Secretary of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, Gareth Wittstock.
The Princess’ Foundation revealed earlier this week that Yannick Angel, French swimmer and Ambassador of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, will join team Serenity with the Princess.
The remaining team members are still to be revealed.
The crossing is due to take place on 12th and 13th September and aims to raise awareness about drowning prevention and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation’s work on water safety around the world.
Related stories:

Water bike challenge: Battle of the siblings

 
 

French police actively fining for mask non-compliance

by: Stephanie Horsman
13/08/2020

Amidst an alarming rise in new Covid cases, France is slowly ramping up police checks to ensure people are wearing face masks in required places, as well as making sure they are respecting social distancing rules.

France made it compulsory to wear masks in indoor public spaces from July, but now many French cities have expanded the requirement to outdoor public space as well.

Nice was one of the first, and now major French cities such as Paris, Lille, Biarritz and Toulouse are all on board as well. Monaco, too, has recently made outdoor use of masks mandatory in Casino Square, the old town on the Rock, on the esplanade at Fontvieille shopping centre and on the Place du Palais.

Police in France are setting about making sure there is full compliance of the law. They are stepping up checks and handing out fines to people who are not obeying the rules.

According to BFMTV, authorities in the Alpes-Maritimes have already handed out 200 fines for non-compliance.

The fines, at €135, should be substantial enough to make people think twice about taking the risk, though the government hopes that it is the virus and not the police that should be the catalyst for habitual mask-wearing.

The new rules come on the heel of a recent rise in Covid cases in the country. The escalating case load is not a huge surprise, as freedom of movement has slowly resumed after lockdown allowing more social interaction, but the precautions are an attempt to slow the virus enough to stabilise numbers.

 
Photo: City of Nice