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Fréjus Tunnel that connects France and Italy to close this weekend
The tunnel will close for 12 hours and not the 56 hours originally announced
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TotalEnergies opens service station for electric vehicles in Paris
It is the first of its kind in the capital and has ultra-fast charging
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Conductors on French public transport will soon be able to check your address
Move is part of anti-fraud plans to prevent people from giving false information during fines including on SNCF trains
Fewer deaths on French roads but fines rise
A modest drop in road deaths – down 5.5% year on year – was noted in July, the first month following the reduction of the speed limit to 80kph on many secondary roads, however speed camera fines doubled.
It comes as controversy is brewing in the south over a permanent reduction from 110 to 90kph on a busy 20km stretch of the A8 motorway.
July’s reduction in deaths (19 less than July 2017 making 344 in total) was accompanied by a significant reduction in serious injuries, with 11% fewer than July 2017. However deaths also reduced year-on-year in May and June (by 8% and 9%) after the launch of a raft of measures prioritising safety following three years of rising mortality.
Officials said that a hike in fines linked to the new limits on secondary roads will subside once people get used to them.
Meanwhile the government is in a dispute over limits on the motorway between Nice Saint-Isidore and Antibes. It asked Escota, the Vinci Autoroutes subsidiary which manages the A8, to install signs whose wording can be changed at a distance so as to display temporary speed reductions at busy times but Escota said it would have to put up the tolls to pay for it.
The state is now threatening to enforce a permanent reduction to 90kph, possibly from this autumn, and the president of the Alpes-Maritimes council said that if it happens Escota should be forced to make the stretch free of charge.
However Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said a speed reduction was unacceptable as it would increase journey times.