Cavani misses late penalty as French champion PSG draws

Paris Saint-Germain’s dismal recent run in Ligue 1 continued on Saturday as Edinson Cavani missed a stoppage-time penalty for the French champions in a scrappy 1-1 home draw with Nice.

The Uruguayan shot weakly at Nice stopper Walter Benitez nearly five minutes after Neymar, who scored PSG’s leveller from the spot 30 minutes earlier, was judged via VAR to have been brought down by Dante.

PSG retained the league title two weeks ago and are 17 points ahead of second-placed Lille but they have now won just one of their last six league games as their season continues to disappoint in the aftermath of their nightmare Champions League defeat to Manchester United in March.

They were beaten 3-2 at Montpellier midweek after throwing away a two-goal lead to lose on penalties the French Cup final last weekend, after which star striker Kylian Mbappe was hit with a three-match ban for a rash tackle on Rennes’ Damien Da Silva.

Not even Neymar — who is awaiting sanctions after hitting a Renne’s fan in the aftermath of the cup defeat — bagging his first league goal since January was enough to rouse the hosts from their slumber.

The Brazilian struck from the spot on the hour mark in front of a not-full Parc des Princes to level Ignatius Ganago’s stunning volleyed opener just after half-time, but Thomas Tuchel’s side were lacklustre throughout and couldn’t grab the winner.

Patrick Vieira’s Nice, who are down in seventh and seven points away from the Europa League place, had a much simpler chance to double their lead and pile the pain on PSG 12 minutes later after Ganago’s strike, but Alan Saint-Maximin could only watch in horror as his shot from the bar after being served an open goal by the dynamic Youcef Atal.

They were duly punished seconds later by Neymar, who coolly strode up to score his spot-kick after Angel Di Maria was hacked down by Patrick Burner.

PSG pushed for a winner without creating much, and they were handed a golden opportunity to snatch an undeserved winner when referee Frank Schneider pointed to the spot, booking a distraught Dante in the process.

However Cavani, in his first start since February, wasn’t up to the task and the hosts had to make do with an underwhelming point.

PHOTOS: ‘African Spiderman’ begins firefighting training in France

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True to the words of French President Emmanuel Macron that African Spiderman, Mamoudou Gassama, would be employed as a firefighter in France, Gassama has started his training.

Taking to his Twitter handle on Wednesday, Gassama shared photos of his visit to the Champerret barracks of the Pompiers De Paris.

The photos showed the 22-year-old being shown the workings of a firefighter vehicle, as well as getting his hands dirty with some on-the-spot training.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: ‘Hero’ who saved child to get French citizenship, says Macron

Gassama had climbed four storeys to rescue a child on Monday in France and has been hailed as a hero in the country.

He met with President Macron, who gave him French citizenship as well as a job in firefighting.

See the photos below:

Bugatti’s Voiture Noire unveiled as most expensive sports car ever built

The car carries a jaw-dropping price tag of £9.46m but it has already been snapped up by an “enthusiast”

All the components of the car have been handcrafted

The most expensive sports car ever to be built has been launched at the Geneva Auto Show.

The Voiture Noire built by French supercar maker Bugatti carries a jaw-dropping price of €11m (£9.46m).

According to the company, which launched the one-off car to mark its 110th anniversary, it has already been sold to a “Bugatti enthusiast”.

The car’s main feature is its unique 1,500 horse power 16-cylinder engine which has never been fitted to a car before.

Bugatti described the model as a homage to the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic – only four were made between 1936 and 1938.

Image:The car was snapped up as soon as it was launched

Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is the owner of the last Atlantic produced.

Bugatti president Steve Winkelmann said: “With Voiture Noire (black car) we are paying homage to our heritage and bringing speed, technology, luxury and aesthetics forward to a new era.

“The new hyper sports car reflects Bugatti’s French heritage and its French identity – elegance through, minimalism and refinement through intensification.

“This is a tailor-made creation only comparable to the haute couture of exclusive Paris fashion designers.”

Image:The Voiture Noire has 16 cylinders

Bugatti designer Etienne Salome said all the components of the car have been handcrafted.

He said: “This is a material that has been handled perfectly. We worked long and hard on this design until there was nothing we could improve.

“For us, it represents the perfect form with a perfect finish.”

Yellow vest protest in France

Hundreds of “yellow vest” protesters began marches in Paris on Saturday, marking the 17th straight weekend of anti-government demonstrations despite attempts by French President Emmanuel Macron to quell discontent with a nationwide series of debates.

Protesters wearing the neon high-visibility vests that have come to symbolize the movement were joined by others donning pink tops, as child-care workers turned out against a reform of their unemployment subsidies.

Other gatherings were planned on Saturday in several French cities such as Bordeaux and Toulouse as well as smaller towns such as southerly Puy-en-Velay.

Some demonstrators staged a “flashmob” at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, waving French flags and dancing in one of the terminals, television footage on BFM TV showed.

What started out last November as a backlash against Macron’s plan to hike fuel taxes — part of his bid to push a cleaner energy model — has morphed into a broader movement decrying the government as out of touch with the hardships faced by some households and low-income workers.

Turnout has dwindled since nearly 300,000 people took part in road blockades and marches across France on Nov. 17, coming in at 39,300 last Saturday according to the interior ministry.

But protesters have carried on nonetheless, with few signs of a halt in demonstrations any time soon. The latest turnout figures were not yet available.

Macron, who dropped the fuel tax increase and budgeted an extra 10 billion euros ($11.24 billion) to help the poorest workers, has also sought to defuse the unrest with a series of town hall-like meetings across France.

Consultations with local representatives are due to draw to a close next weekend, coinciding with calls by some ‘yellow vest’ campaigners to up the pressure on the government throughout March. The movement has no single leader.

After protests descended into riots in December, recent demonstrations been largely peaceful.Slideshow (6 Images)

Some 54 percent of French people backed or had sympathy with the ‘yellow vests’, an Ifop poll taken on March 7 and 8 for online news site Atlantico showed on Saturday. That was up from 50 percent in mid-February but down from a peak of 72 percent.

Macron’s popularity has also improved in recent weeks. An Ipsos poll released on March 6 showed his ratings improved by 8 percentage points since December of 2018, to a 28 percent approval level.

(This version of the story corrects turnout figure for previous Saturday to 39,300, not 46,600, in paragraph six.)