The week began with a small shock; an earthquake in San Remo with a magnitude of 3.7 on the Richter scale. The tremor was felt in Nice and in various villages. We slept through all the commotion, probably the heavy rain and wind made more noise. Yet, the authorities are especially alert to this natural disaster. The predictions were therefore not tender; thanks to drilling for gas in the deeper layers of the Earth and the further erosion of the massif, we should expect more of these small earthquakes.
And darn, on Friday it already happened: a big ‘boink’ was felt in the port of Nice. Luckily it was only the Pacific Princess who made a wrong maneuver. The 168 meter long cruise ship hit the shore and got slightly damaged. All 669 guests and 382 crew members had to leave the cruiseliner. Ultimately the damage was not too bad and the holiday guests could laugh because there was a nice windfall. One would leave for Barcelona; day 11 of a 12-day cruise. Now everyone will be refunded for the full amount of the trip.
Road safety
More windfall good news this week; the number of accidents in the Alpes Maritimes region fell in September by 21.1%. Caused by tighter control on speed, using additional radar stations. Driving is no longer fun, but a lot safer. Safety is also priority for the Promenade des Anglais where a memorial service was held for the victims of the July 14 attack. All names of the victims were read out loud and it became clear that it was not an operation of one confused drunk divorced man, but a terrorist attack that had been planned in 2015. Let’s install that additional security quickly. To help the famous boulevard on the Riviera, the city is working on registration for the UNESCO World Heritage List. This progress can be followed on missionpromenade.fr.
Nice Monaco airport
The beautiful weather is also in our World Heritage List; this region has the most hours of sunshine in Europe and to keep the YingYang we sometimes have rain and storm. This week it was bingo; some schools remained closed and it was forbidden to walk along the seafront. Even incoming planes were diverted from Nice Airport to Genoa and Marseilles. You can now land again in Nice. Soon you might hear the flight attendant say: ‘Welcome to Nice-Monaco airport. No longer Nice Côte d’Azur, but Nice-Monaco. The reason for this surreptitious advertising is an investment of 10% by Monaco at Nice airport, the third airport in France. It is not yet sure if this all will happen; but if advertising is that easy; I’m sure Ikea would like to deposit also some money. Though “Welcome to Nice – Ikea airport ‘sounds a lot less glamorous. And ultimately, it is the French glamour and lifestyle that attracts so many people.
Housing markt grows
In the South of France, you will find luxury and wealth, but also simplicity and rugged nature. And it remains affordable though everyone was shocked with the news that real estate taxes increased by nearly 15% this year. However, if you zoom in on the details, we see that this is only in Nantes. In the Nice region, the increase is just 1%. Another windfall that directly echoed on sales. Latest figures from the FNAIM show that 22% more homes have been sold in the first half of 2016 than the year before. The offer is also larger, partly because of a more flexible policy to building permits. The Côte d’Azur continues leading with the highest number of holiday homes; 24% of all homes are ‘second home’ and in possession of a foreigner.
French Riviera lifestyle app
If you have enough of all small talk in the UK or wherever you live, come and look up at the French Alps, listen to the rippling waters of the Mediterranean and enjoy organic food every day and nature at its best. Start to get into ithe mood by installing our new mobile App; free for download in the App Store and the Google Play Store. Here you will find all what makes the French Riviera so unique; live streams of the best southern French radio stations, local news and all restaurants, hotels, golf courses and ski resorts.
We wish you a nice week; school holidays will start so extra family fun at the seaside!
Ab and Jo
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