This weekend, the weather was (far too) beautiful and you probably didn’t have the heart to let yourself be swept away by a wind of non-stop news, not always happy. You’ve also certainly gone on an egg hunt, and that’s much better than having your nose glued to your smartphone to check the latest slip that is making Twittos angry. A good choice since, you know, we were there to watch and we deliver our summary to you. We have selected five big news that should not be missed during the last seventy-two hours… Spoiler alert: we are not talking about football this time.
1. Hell in Marseilles
It must have been one of those pleasant weekends at the start of spring, but the dramatic explosion which blew up the building at number 17 rue de Tivoli and partially destroyed the two neighboring buildings plunged Marseille into dread. This Monday evening again, the day after the collapse of the building which killed at least five people, the emergency services relentlessly searched the rubble in search of other missing persons. “There is still hope” to find “possible survivors”, said the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan on Monday morning. Three people are still missing under the rubble of the building which collapsed like a house of cards. The investigation continues to determine the causes of the explosion, a gas leak being part of the tracks, according to the authorities.
Our reporter in Marseille, Alexander Vellacome back here in the first hours following the tragedy.
2. China encircles Taiwan
The Chinese army said on Monday that it had “successfully completed” its military maneuvers aimed at encircling the autonomous island of Taiwan for three days, which detected 12 warships and 91 planes on the last day of the operation. From April 8 to 10, the Chinese military command “successfully completed various tasks” of military readiness “around the island of Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as a Chinese province, with the ”Joint Sword” exercise”, the army said in a post on social media.
Denounced by Taiwan and the United States, which called for “restraint” while deploying a destroyer in waters claimed by Beijing, these maneuvers received support from Russia on Monday. Tensions, autonomy, United States… 20 minutes explains to you why these military exercises further weaken the relationship between beijing and Tapei… and Washington and Moscow. A recap from here.
3. Six dead in an avalanche
The deadly toll increased on Monday after the avalanche that occurred the day before on a glacier in Contamines-Montjoie (Haute-Savoie), with a total of six people dead, announced the Bonneville prosecution. This assessment makes the avalanche one of the deadliest in recent years in France.
The skiers caught in the snowslide took part in a ski tour on a classic route of the Mont-Blanc massif, in glorious weather and without any particular weather warning. The avalanche surprised “three groups of skiers”, each “supervised by one or two mountain guides”, indicated the prosecution. Among the deceased were two guides from the company of guides of St-Gervais (Haute-Savoie), born in 1974 and 1984, as announced on Sunday by the National Union of Mountain Guides, and four customers. In addition to a couple from Lyon, a young woman from Beaufortain and a young man from Lille, both in their twenties (born in 1999 and 1998 respectively) are also among the deceased. How to explain this tragedy when “the conditions were good” to go hiking? Our journalist in Lyon, Elise Martinmake the point here.
4. Rudy Gobert hits a teammate
Rudy Gobert makes his my culpa. The French Minnesota Timberwolves center apologized on Sunday after hitting teammate Kyle Anderson in the final game of the NBA regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans, which he did not finish.
“Emotions got the better of me today. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, regardless of what was said. I want to apologize to the fans, the organization and especially Kyle who is someone I really love and respect as a teammate,” the 30-year-old pivot tweeted hours later. after an incident in the second quarter of the game won by the Minnesota franchise 113-108. To know everything and see everything, it is by herei.
5. The Force was in London
Nearly 60,000 excited fans, enticing announcements and a good-natured atmosphere, etc. The four-day Star Wars Celebration in London was a complete success and while dark circles were starting to appear under everyone’s eyes on Monday, the tired smiles were widened by the announcements made by Lucasfilm.
That is three films in project and multiple series. The Star Wars universe has a bright future ahead of it and it’s not Caroline Vié, film journalist at 20 minutes, which will contradict us. Our film reporter was in London and kept getting Luke Skywalker’s padawan costumes down the aisles. His report is worth reading here.
More info: Fabien Roussel was re-elected on Monday at the head of the Communist Party meeting in congress in Marseille with more than 80% of the votes. Emphasizing the “honor” given to him, Fabien Roussel said in the preamble to his speech “aspiring to be worthy of the trust” brought by the activists. For 20 Minutes, Thibaut Le Gal had drawn the portrait of this cool coco who traces his route at a distance from Nupes: