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Glance around France: Winter weather leads to road closures in the Alps and sniffer dogs arrive in Nice

Our round-up of the stories from around France on Friday includes road closures in the Alps due to threat of icy weather and sniffer dogs arrive in Nice.

Published: 26 October 2018 18:44 CEST
Glance around France: Winter weather leads to road closures in the Alps and sniffer dogs arrive in Nice
Photo: AFP
Alpine roads to close this weekend as icy weather expected
 
With temperatures forecast to drop drastically all over France this weekend, local authorities in the Savoie in the Alps have decided to close several roads leading to some of the mountains highest passes called the cols de Maurienne.
 
The closure affects the following passes:  the Galibier, the Iseran, the Madeleine, the Croix de fer et the Glandon. 
 
These closures are a preventative measure, and the roads could open again next week if the weather permits. Every year, the cols de Maurienne close for the winter at the start of November.
 
For more on this story, click here.

 
Police arrested a man who drove a car to the driving centre to sit his test
 
An 18-year-old man was arrested in Marseille this week for arriving at a centre to take his driving test… at the wheel of a car. 
 
This was obviously illegal as he didn't yet have his drivers licence. 
 
The young man, who was just showing off in front of his friends, according to Ouest France, was driven away in a police car shortly after he got there. He faces a one-year prison sentence, a 15,000-euro fine and potentially a five-year-ban from sitting his test.
 
To read more about this story, click here.
 
 
Police in Nice bring in sniffer-dogs to patrol the streets
 
Police in Nice are testing a new way to deter bad behaviour in some of the southern city's seedier districts.
 
They've brought in dogs to help reassure its inhabitants, with the hope that the animals will also put some order back in some parts of the city.
 
“These sniffing-dogs are a physical presence. That's important because there are drug dealers and fights outside nightclubs here,” local shopkeepers told 20minutes.
 
The dogs will be tested for a month, and possibly longer if their presence is effective.
 
To read more about this story, click here.
 
 
 
Unemployment in Brittany is on the rise
 
The number of unemployed people in Brittany has increased by 0.8%, the latest figures show. Unemployment in France overall has risen by 0.5%.
 
In total, this means 146,170 people in the area have not found any work at all in the last three months.
 
Unemployment in Brittany particularly affects men of all ages. Regarding women however, fewer of them under the age of 25 and over 50 are out of work, francebleu reported.
 
To read more about this story, click here.
 
Wild boar strolls onto road bridge
 
Police in Brest issued a warning Friday about an intruder on the northern port's main entrance bridge.
 
A wild boar was seen strolling across the pont de l'Iroise shortly before 11am. The authorities urged drivers to be careful until the animal wandered quietly away.

To read more about this story, click here.
 

 

 

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: French town hit by freak June hailstorm

A French town has been hit by a freak hailstorm that left locals clearing drifts of ice in the streets with shovels and snow ploughs.

Published: 29 June 2021 16:44 CEST
IN PICTURES: French town hit by freak June hailstorm
Photo: Sapeurs-pompiers des Vosges

The hail struck the town of Plombières-les-Bains in the Vosges mountains on Tuesday morning.

Romain Munier, head of communications for the local emergency services, told French media: “There were up to 60 centimetres of accumulated hail” while in the wider area, “up to 10 millimetres of water accumulated in six minutes”.

https://twitter.com/timbaland57/status/1409881345741012994

Locals were pictured clearing the street of ice with shovels and snow ploughs after the storm passed and the fire and rescue crews for the Vosges area said they had received 56 callouts in total.

Large areas of France are on weather alert for storms until Thursday, as a ‘cold drop’ passes over the country leading to extremely unsettled weather.

In most areas, however, the storms will be confined to heavy rain and thunder.

In neighbouring Switzerland, the Swiss news agency ATS reported giant hailstones up to seven centimetres wide in the canton of Lucerne.

In the canton of Fribourg, the police and fire brigade were called 300 times, including to rescue a class of 16 children and two adults caught in the hail.

Six of the children and one adult were taken to hospital.

At least five people were injured in the German-speaking Swiss cantons, including a cyclist who suffered head injuries from hailstones, according to ATS, whilst in Germany severe flooding has hit parts of the country including Stuttgart.

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