This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Military orders investigation into how a third of sailors on Charles de Gaulle were infected The French military has ordered an inquiry into how a third of the crew on its navy’s flagship The nuclear-powered vessel had reportedly had no contact with the outside world since it went to sea on 15 March the French defence ministry confirmed 50 sailors had Covid-19 and the ship was ordered back to base in Toulon on France’s Mediterranean coast Since then 668 sailors – one third of the 1,767-strong crew – have tested positive We do not have the results for 30% of the tests,” it said in a statement Sailors from the Charles de Gaulle arrive onshore at Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer Photograph: Jonathan Bellenand/French navy/EPAThe crew members have been placed in isolation for 14 days before being allowed to rejoin their families “Operations to disinfect the vessel and aircraft have begun,” said the French defence minister who added a message of support for the confined sailors and their families The Charles de Gaulle was docked at Brest on France’s western coast between 13-15 March This was two days before the country’s strict confinement has ordered an inquiry into the contamination of the vessel Hawkeye surveillance and control aircraft as well as Caracal and Cougar helicopters and Aster surface-to-air missiles had been on exercise since 21 January and spent several weeks in the Mediterranean as part of Opération Chammal the French contribution to the international anti-terrorist Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria It then sailed to the North Sea and then the Atlantic for “operations of security and defence” to European sea routes new aircraft carrier the Queen Elizabeth is due to set sail from Portsmouth for a training exercise later this month prompting the opposition Labour party to question whether the warship with its 600-strong crew should be setting sail given the fate of its stricken French counterpart on Wednesday to ask whether the UK Ministry of Defence should in the light of “the concerning reports” involving the French and other warships The Royal Navy said it is undertaking special measures to minimise the risk of an outbreak and that the warship could sail to the UK quickly in the event of a crisis The British navy believes its aircraft carrier is more modern and less cramped than Charles de Gaulle where over 600 have been infected from a crew of 4,000 and one sailor has died after a coronavirus infection got out of control SEARCHThe global authority in superyachting The IMS 700 superyacht repair yard in the South of France has taken in its first boat as work on the site nears completion The boat was Sister Act, a 43.25 metre Heesen, captained by Cyril Catania. There are 320 tonne and 670 tonne travel lifts – the 670 tonne lift was responsible for IMS 700's first lift-out, on 10 December. Haul-outs were to continue over the week to satisfy demand, as a partial opening of the site. Meanwhile, the final phase of building work continues on the IMS 700 site, which will cater for boats from 20m to 80m, and should be completed in March. Aside from its extensive repair and refit facilities, the yard offers space devoted to crews, with a gym, multimedia room, rest area, terrace and BBQ and private sea access. The nine-month project so far has seen 2,700 cubic metres of earth removed and reused, almost 8,000 tonnes of asphalt laid on the hard-standing area and nearly 8km of cable sheaths created for the myriad cables to be run around the site. Denis Pellegrino, President of IMS Shipyard, said, “We have had 80 people working full time on the site, which is 20,000 working hours until the completion of the shipyard and we are doubling our in-house staff. This is a rare and extremely stimulating development project for all of us. We are proud to have successfully completed the first stage of the challenge. This is just the beginning!” Latest news, brokerage headlines and yacht exclusives, every weekday SubscribeSign up to our newslettersSign up to BOAT International email newsletters to get the latest superyacht news Boat International Media Ltd © 2008 - 2025 Content presented under the "BOAT Presents" logo is an advertising feature and Boat International Limited has been paid to include this content A list containing some of France’s most-polluted beaches has been unveiled to help summer visitors decide where to bathe it shows the vast majority of French beaches are ranked as ‘excellent’ Its study looked at more than 1,800 beaches whose water quality is regularly checked by regional health agencies in France The media organisation has provided a searchable, interactive map (in French and behind a paywall) that allows you to see beaches near you or check the quality of those you may visit on holiday Visitors are advised to check for reports on the quality of the water before diving in A European directive requires bathing water to be checked and the result of these analyses enables authorities to classify beaches into four grades based on their water quality and they are based on the microbiological analysis results for the current year and the three previous ones eight beaches in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur are primarily affected by poor (‘insufficient’) quality water These notably include beaches in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer On June 21, swimming at Gravette beach, Antibes, was suspended due to high levels of enterococcus bacteria in the water have been closed since March and will remain so throughout the summer beaches of excellent quality water in the area include those in the communes of Grimaud The beaches in these regions tend to be of high quality while most of the beaches in Corsica are also classified as ‘excellent’ Read also: Riptides on French coast: How to avoid and what to do if caught suffers from higher-than-ideal levels of pollution beaches a few kilometres away in Ile d'Oléron and Ile d'Aix are much better Soorts-Hossegor; and Anglet in the Pays Basque all of which have a number of beaches with ‘excellent’ water quality the beaches of Agon-Coutainville and Coudeville-sur-Mer have ‘insufficient’ water quality which have many sites with ‘excellent’ water quality Hauts-de-France has fewer swimming spots compared to other regions and while none of them are ranked as of ‘insufficient’ quality the proportion of beaches of ‘excellent’ quality is low They tend to be rated ‘good’ or ‘sufficient’ and Saint-Brieuc are of ‘insufficient’ quality The beach at Saint-Michel-en-Grève even saw the first suspected case of death caused by green algae, in 1989, when hydrogen sulphide, a toxic gas emitted by decomposing algae, is thought to have caused the death of a 27-year-old jogger The beach at Saint-Brieuc is also seeing problems linked to invasive green algae and Plounéour-Brignogan-Plages have around a dozen beaches that are deemed to be of ‘excellent’ quality The beaches at Pornic and Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez fare better than those at Pouliguen and Saint-Nazaire as the latter two are rated of ‘insufficient’ quality in the Le Figaro list These have been ranked France’s most environmentally friendly beaches Green, yellow, red, purple: New safety flag system for French beaches How to pick a clean beach in France Recent power cut in Spain and Portugal is warning to holidaymakers to ensure they are prepared for worst-case scenario The resort is set to remain open to the public and not only to professionals Storms from the weekend will persist across some areas Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.