For years, Nice was the centre of life for film star Sean Connery, who became world-famous as THE James Bond actor and died last weekend at the age of ninety. The leading lady of his life, the Franco-Moroccan painter Micheline Roquebrune, came from the Côte d'Azur and they were happily married for almost 45 years. His granddaughters by marriage, the journalists Eve-Anna and Stéphanie Renouvin, were also born and raised in the region. Here, Rolf Liffers gives you a review of the Scot's life.

Despite the Coronavirus, Grasse and the neighbouring town of Le Rouret remain optimistic: they are planning their 25th truffle market for January. Then the noble black mushroom will be the centre of attention for two days, as customary. The season of aromatic Tuber Melanosporum is about to begin, however, the elusive fungus will not reach its full aroma until the middle of winter.

The heinous attack that took place last week in Nice shocked the local community and the world. Investigators have discovered that the attacker had only arrived in France two days before and are uncovering a web of local contacts. Two men from Grasse were arrested on Saturday. Here is what we know so far... 

People who travel often, whether privately or professionally, move abroad, leave their home country to study or commute between different places of residence should consider private international health insurance. However, the many options and providers can make finding the right coverage a difficult and confusing process.

Due to the alarming spike in the cases of Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations, we are being placed under another lockdown-like curfew starting 24 October (effective midnight tonight). This ‘couvre-feu’, or enforced curfew, that was recently applied only to a few regions and cities deemed a ‘maximum alert zone’ but has now been extended to almost the whole of France. Here we detail what has been prohibited and what the exceptions are.

After the devastating storm that hit the Côte d'Azur on 2 October 2020, several institutions at the national, regional and departmental levels are setting up several emergency funds, totalling 6.4 million euros to support companies impacted by physical damage and loss of business. This territorial solidarity is in addition to the national support from disaster relief.

Currently, Paris is the number one city for filming locations in France but when deciphering between interior and exterior shots, the Côte d'Azur takes first place for exterior filming locations. Is there any wonder why? On 30 September, the Film Commission of the Côte d'Azur held a press conference on the current status of the region’s cinematographic and audiovisual activities for 2019 and 2020. The figures are promising and it has certainly helped fill-in the revenue gap from the current health crisis.

From 23 to 28 October, Cannes hosts the 17th annual Festival International du Film Panafrican de Cannes. The FIFP was created in 2004 by Basile Ngangue Ebelle as a means to spread awareness on the richness of contemporary PanAfrican cinema and also as an ambassador of human values in the film industry.