Prince Albert visiting Chaumont-Porcien. Photo: Twitter France3-ChampArdenne
Prince Albert paid a morning visit to the Chaumont-Porcien, a village with a population of 500, on Tuesday, April 3.
The Prince’s itinerary included the recently-renovated chapel of Saint-Berthauld, a building which became part of the Grimaldi estates through the marriage of Louise d’Aumont Mazarin to Honoré IV of Monaco in 1771.
And although the official inauguration of the chapel won’t take place until June 16, the 1500th anniversary of the death of Saint-Berthauld, mayor Guy Camus told France 3 Region that Prince Albert was unavailable in June.
“The Palace asked me what security I could provide, in a small village like ours … I do not have a policeman here.” The prefect provided the necessary security and after six month of preparation and meetings, everything was ready, he said.
The Prince gave a speech in the town hall square later in the day, before the visit came to a close with an exchange of gifts and a tasting of local products.
The Prince’s Government has reiterated its commitment to enforce respect for the rules of the highway code and its will to fight against all forms of road incivility, which not only carry the risk of accidents but also generate nuisances likely to degrade the quality of life of residents.
Some particularly popular events in Monaco can result in large pockets of traffic. This is often not programmed nor controlled by the event organisers on the fringes of which they take place, and are likely to cause significant challenges to public order by drivers who indulge in inappropriate and dangerous behaviour, the Government said in a statement on Tuesday, April 3.
In view of past nuisances, especially and during the 2017 edition of Top Marques, the Government of Monaco decided to strengthen the legal arsenal of repression of the offences committed, through the amendment of the Sovereign Ordinance. No. 1.691 of December 17, 1957, regulating the traffic police (Highway Code) and the issuance of a Ministerial Order regulating the period of immobilisation of vehicles on the occasion of certain events.
In its fight against the conduct of drivers who have committed offences and disturbed public order, the Directorate of Public Security now has the power to proceed, inter alia, to an immediate immobilisation of the offending vehicle for a period of 24 hours, which can be extended to 48 hours for certain specific events, including Top Marques and the Grand Prix.
These new provisions, agreed by the Prince’s Government, are intended to curb annoyances as much as possible and preserve the tranquillity and safety of the residents of Monaco.
For the first time in history, a German sailor is set to take on one of the biggest and toughest challenges in competitive sailing: the Vendée Globe.
Hamburg’s Boris Herrmann, 34, has his sights set on competing in the next edition of the solo regatta, which takes place in November 2020 and sees competitors sail non-stop around the world on the Southern Ocean.
Team partner for the campaign is fellow sailor Pierre Casiraghi, founder of the Malizia team, which competes for the Monaco Yacht Club.
BMW is on board as team partner, bringing with it the company’s expertise in automotive manufacturing and its experience of technology transfer in competitive sailing, the company said.
BMW has been involved in the America’s Cup since 2002, and won the most coveted trophy in sailing with BMW ORACLE Racing in 2010. Over the coming year, the foiling Open 60 yacht “Malizia” will be optimised for the toughest solo race in the world.
“Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia campaign is a very ambitious project which will push man and equipment to their absolute limits,” said Sven Schuwirth, Head of BMW Brand. “BMW loves this kind of challenge, which allows us to demonstrate our pioneering and innovative spirit. We look forward to supporting the team and, above all, skipper Boris Herrmann as the first German to take part in the Vendée Globe.”
Herrmann will contest the Vendée Globe with an offshore racing yacht from the IMOCA class. The “Malizia” is one of the latest generation of Open 60 boats and is equipped with L-shaped foils, which can lift the yacht partly out of the water, making it far faster than previous designs. In March, following initial modifications, Herrmann transferred the yacht, which was built in 2015, from the shipyard in Lorient/Brittany to the Mediterranean. It is now at its home at the Yacht Club in Monaco, where it is undergoing further modification for the regattas ahead.
Vice-President of the Monaco Yacht Club Pierre Casiraghi is the youngest son of Princess Caroline. He sails regularly with Herrmann, and is supporting him on the Vendée campaign. Among other things, he will race alongside the German at various Open 60 double-handed regattas. Wind permitting, the duo’s first race outing in 2018 will be next week’s record attempt on the Mediterranean from Marseille (FRA) to Cartagena (ESP).
Last year, Herrmann and Casiraghi finished an excellent third in the iconic Rolex Fastnet Race.
“The campaign is now picking up pace this season, and the partnership with BMW has given us another boost,” said Casiraghi. “I am really looking forward to working with such a renowned and innovative company as BMW. Together, we can achieve our ambitious goals.”
Due to a national SNCF strike, train service will be “very disrupted” from Tuesday, April 3, to the point that the French rail operator is recommending passengers postpone trips.
The strike, which is the first of 12 days during April, May and June, will continue well into Thursday, April 5.
Only one in ten TGVs to/from Nice will be operating, while TER and intercity service will be heavily impacted with delays and cancellations.
Guillaume Pepy, the head of SNCF, said that as few as one train in eight will operate during the stoppage. Three rail unions are involved in the strike, CGT, Unsa and the CFDT.
The action is against Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who has said that he will pass a major reform of the SNCF by the summer, including ending the coveted status of “cheminot” – job-for-life contracts that came into place when the SNCF was nationalised In 1937 – for newly-recruited railway workers. According to a Harris opinion poll, Philippe has 69 percent of voters on his side.
Meanwhile Finance Minister Bruno Le Marie has said that state-owned rail service cannot go on losing €3 billion a year and paying €1 billion in interest on its debt, which topped €47 billion at the end of 2017.
April’s strike days include officially: 3,4, 9, 13, 18, 19 , 23 and 24.
