Jane Birkin will bring her tribute to Serge Gainsbourg to Monaco early this summer, SBM has announced. British-born Birkin and enfant terrible singer-songwriter Gainsbourg became France’s most glamorous and notorious couple of the 1970s. The couple performed together the unforgettable, and some said obscene “Je’taime… moi non plus” in 1969.
“Gainsbourg symphonique” will be performed on May 11 in the Salle Garnier, a unique concert accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra and undoubtedly one of the highlights of the summer season in the Principality. Tickets go on sale on February 7.
The airport that serves Saint-Tropez can continue to accept direct flights from outside the Schengen zone after a vociferous campaign. Local politicians had told the French government that removing the ability of La Mole/Saint-Tropez and Castellet to accept such flights would be a heavy blow for the local economy.
However, according to a letter from the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Le Roux, the acceptance of direct flights from outside the Schengen zone into Saint-Tropez will be open from the summer of 2017 and during peak holiday periods, while Castellet will enjoy more limited privileges.
President of the PACA region, Christian Estrosi, said that while he welcomed the central government’s change of heart, it was not enough and that he would be campaigning along with other local officials for a complete reversion to the previous arrangements. The original move to close the local airports to flights originating outside the Schengen zone was made in the interests of saving manpower.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) will hold its annual conference in Monaco in June this year. The venue is particularly significant as the organisation is celebrating its 50th anniversary and Monaco is a world leader as a business destination, as well as a tourist hotspot.
The two-day event will be held in Monte Carlo from June 4 to 6 in association with headline sponsor easyJet. High on the agenda will be the impact of Brexit on business travel, with Tim Montgomerie, from The Times, and economist Gerard Lyons due to speak.
A gala celebration will take place on the evening of June 5 to celebrate the GTMC’s anniversary. The programme for the second day will examine the future of the sector.
Paul Wait, CEO of GTMC said: “We’ll be using this year’s event not only to celebrate but also to review some of the biggest learnings from the last few decades and, more importantly, to discuss future trends.”
Mr Wait added, “We have invested in developing a programme for the conference that is not only reflective but thought-provoking with a focus on current trends and issues and we look forward to a debate-filled programme that I hope will influence the way we travel for business over the coming 50 years.”
French electricity supplier EDF has double-debited the bank accounts of one million customers this week, blaming the error on an IT problem.
The company has promised to refund the money within 48 hours, adding that it so far is not aware of the nature of the bug that caused the double billing on Monday and Tuesday this week. Customers have been advised to look for an email from EDF informing them of the problem.
