Flash floods in River Brague near Antibes led to at least 16 deaths

Flash floods played havoc in the French Riviera as entire roads were washed away by waves of muddy water from River Brague which destroyed peoples' homes, washed away cars and caused widespread travel disruption across the region.
The dead included three who drowned in an Antibes retirement home, a 60-year-old woman who tried crossing a flooded road in Cannes and at least five who had sought shelter inside their cars in Nice.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 4 October 2015.

The death toll could go up as fire crews and ambulances are having a rough time to reach the worst-affected areas, where 35,000 homes are without power.
French President Francois Hollande has met residents whose houses and lives have been destroyed by the natural disaster.
It seems torrential rains resulted in the River Brague near Antibes, which lies between Nice and Cannes, to burst its banks. This was followed by the muddy water washing away entire roads, destroying homes and cars, and causing widespread travel disruption.
On rough estimates, nearly two months of rainfall fell on the popular resort town of Cannes, where 'cars were carried off into the sea'.
(Image courtesy wiimediacommons.org)

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Drones over Paris at night rob the sleep of the French Police

#drones #eiffeltower #placedelaconcorde #elyseepalace Drones have taken to the night skies of Paris to rob the sleep of the police because these gadgets are not very large, easy to procure and use and, those with ulterior motives could use them to create problems for law enforcement agencies.
The French police have indicated that at least five of the unmanned aerial machines have been sighted during the night and none of the operators have been caught as reported in bbc.com dated 24 February 2015. The worry is that these drones have been spotted over sensitive locations. The first one appeared over the US embassy followed by later sightings near the Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde. In the opinion of the French, the drone flights could be linked.
Incidentally, only last month a drone was seen over the Elysee Palace, home of President Francois Hollande, and in October a series of nuclear plants was targeted across the country.
Drones have the ability to provide high-quality aerial film and the worry for the authorities is whether to treat them as work of enthusiasts or whether they were being used with malicious intent.
Drones or UAVs have been extensively used in wars by the US and other countries and civilian versions are being created to carry out work like that of courier services there have been reports of drones being used to airdrop drugs inside prisons. Hence, the world of drones is fraught with innumerable possibilities.

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France follows in US footsteps – launches air strikes on IS positions in Iraq

France has followed in the footsteps of the US and has carried out its first air strike on ISIS positions in Iraq as has been informed by the office of President Francois Hollande bbc.com.
As per the statement, fighter planes had attacked an IS depot in north-east Iraq, and has added that there would be more raids in the coming days. Incidentally, the US has carried out more than 170 air strikes against the jihadist group in Iraq since mid-August.
France has also clarified that it would target in Iraq and not in Syria.
The air strike comes a day after President Hollande had indicated that he had agreed to an Iraqi request for air support, and has also insisted that he would not send ground troops.
France had been carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq and providing weapons to Kurdish fighters in the north and it is understood that Rafale planes had carried out the attack and it was a success because "the objective was hit and completely destroyed".
Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, has revealed that four French air strikes had hit the town of Zumar and killed dozens of militants.
The Islamic State continue to remain in control of dozens of cities and towns in Iraq and Syria, where it has declared a caliphate.
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