Singer Al Jarreau, who performed on Monday night at Nice Jazz festival, has been rushed to hospital after collapsing on stage at a show in Gap. Jarreau told “Nice Matin” earlier this week that he feels completely exhausted when he comes off stage, and this week has seen him performing at Nice, Marseille, and Gap. Jarreau is seventy years old. The doctor in charge told Reuters that it is too soon to know if he is dangerously ill or not.
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Air France stewardess steals thousands from passengers
July 20th, 2010A forty-seven year old Air France stewardess has been arrested and charged with theft from passengers after hundreds of thousands of euros worth of cash and other valuables have been reported missing. The stewardess, known as “Lucie R”, apparently stole from the passengers’ belongings after they fell asleep on long haul flights. Her favourite route was Tokyo-Paris, because Japanese passengers frequently carry a lot of cash on them. The investigation, which lasted several months, finally traced the culprit by studying crew rotas for the flights involved. Colleagues had become suspicious of her because of her extravagant lifestyle despite an apparently modest income. She faces up to ten years in jail.
French politicians try to ban Twitter from debates
July 20th, 2010French politicians from both parties are trying to have Twitter banned while the debate on pensions takes place. Recently a number of French politicians have been leaking comments from meetings on their mobile phones linked to Twitter. Now the leaders of the Socialists and the UMP have agreed that for this debate it is important not to pubicise all the discussions. however, there are some MPs who have protested and said this anti-democratic.
Air traffic disruption this week
July 20th, 2010Air Traffic Controllers are striking this week in protest at plans to rationalise the way Europe’s skies are managed. The impact will be greatly reduced slots for airlines flying in and out of Orly and Roissy.
P!nk falls off stage in stunt that goes wrong
July 20th, 2010Rock star P!nk, who wowed the Nice crowds last week with her acrobatic display at the Nikaia was taken to hospital in Nuremberg Germany when she fell out of her harness and landed on a barricade below the stage. Happily the thirty year old star was not badly hurt, and was able to perform her next concerts, including last night in St Petersburg. As she says on her Twitter feed, “always get right back on the horse that bucked you”.
Pete Doherty in hospital - Nice concert cancelled
July 9th, 2010Pete Doherty, scheduled to play a concert in Nice this coming Monday, has been taken to hospital and his concert has been cancelled. There are as yet no details about what is the reason for his hospitalisation, nor in which hospital he is being treated. Tickets will be refunded, although the support acts are still playing and the concert is now free.
Financial scandal rocks French government
July 6th, 2010A major financial scandal is threatening the government including the President, following new revelations in the Liliane Bettencourt affair. Bettencourt is one of the richest people in France thanks to the billions she has inherited from the L’Oréal group. The scandal first centred on the French labour minister, Eric Woerth. According to conversations that were recorded by Bettencourt’s butler, M Woerth appears to have given the Bettencourt family advice on how to avoid paying tax during the time he was Budget Minister and UMP Party Treasurer. M Woerth’s wife was employed by Ms Bettencourt at that time. Now the latest development has M Sarkozy accused by the former accountant of the Bettencourts of accepting envelopes with cash in them, to help finance his electoral campaign. The amounts run into the hundreds of thousands. The President’s office, fearing a major scandal, has immediately issued vigorous denials, and earlier this week two ministers were forced to resign because of financial indiscretions such as charging cigars to public expenses. These two sacrifices may not be enough to save M Woerth and possibly others.
Cheating is widespread in French examinations
June 30th, 2010A study by two academics has shown that over seventy percent of French students admit that they have cheated at some stage in their education. Among the most frequent ways of cheating are asking neighbors in the exam room for help, and using mobile telephones with access to the web. The amount of cheating is at its highest at the college stage - between 11 and 15 years old. This will be particularly relevant for those taking their brevet today and tomorrow.
Sarkozy sets cost-cutting climate with gestures at the top
June 29th, 2010French President Nicolas Sarkozy has introduced a number of cost-cutting measures for the government, many of which are more important as symbols than as serious dents in the national deficit. After canceling the annual Elysée Palace garden party, thereby saving around 700 000 euros, he is now turning his attention to state cars and lodgings. In a letter to the Prime Minister, published yesterday, Sarkozy says, “the government must be irreproachable in its use of public money”. This appears to be part of a move towards cutting back on the national deficit, which is very high. M Sarkozy will remember that Alain Juppé was brought down by trying to impose a tighter national budget, and so he is playing a very careful line in changing the public attitude to the deficit. However, British readers will be fully aware of the dangers for a government of trying to be irreproachable in their use of public money, especially when it comes to MPs expenses. M Sarkozy may inadvertently be creating a trap for himself and his government as he is inviting journalists to scrutinise how money is spent. Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi was criticised two years ago for taking a private jet to be able to participate in the New Year toasting ceremony with the President.
Prince to play Nice concert in July
June 25th, 2010Prince will be in concert at the Stade Charles Ehrmann in Nice on July 25th. The concert has just been announced, and leaves the promoters with 56,000 tickets to sell in a month.
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