Day: 17 June 2019

Women in Monaco may soon be legally free to have an abortion in the Principality. In a major win for women’s rights, the National Council has voted unanimously to amend legislation relating to terminations. It was one of three key laws that received overwhelming support from the council.

Despite advances in women’s reproductive rights in Monaco, it is still illegal for any woman to receive an abortion in the Principality. Those who perform terminations also face criminal sanctions.

On Wednesday 12th June, the National Council gathered for the premier Legislative Public Session of the spring season and first on the agenda was bill 234: the decriminalisation of abortion.

The bill was first presented on 3rd October 2017 and since then, the Commission on Women’s and Family Rights has carried out consultation with a delegation from the Princess Grace Hospital Centre including the head of the Gynecology-Obstetrics department; the delegate for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights; women’s rights associations including Women World Leaders Monaco, Pink Ribbon Monaco, She Can He Can, and the Association for Assistance to Victims of Criminal Offenses; the Monaco Youth Association; and a delegation from the Archdiocese.

The National Council is composed of 24 councillors, only eight of which are women. They voted unanimously to amend the law.

In presenting the bill, Nathalie Amoratti-Blanc, president of the Commission for Women’s and Family Rights, also addressed the issue of prevention. “This is indeed obvious because, regardless of the opinions of everyone, it is reasonable to agree that an abortion is neither an innocuous act nor a means of contraception. Public authorities must therefore do their utmost to ensure that, in practice, it can be avoided.”

She called for a strengthening of prevention policy which can be applied to the field of education, for both girls and boys, in a school setting. “Communication on all the different means of contraception must be strengthened,” said Mrs Amoratti-Blanc.

Maternity leave

The council also voted unanimously to extend maternity leave from 16 to 18 weeks, placing it ahead of other European countries including Germany (14 weeks), Belgium (15 weeks), and France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (16 weeks). However, it stills falls short of the United Kingdom (52 ​​weeks/39 paid), Ireland (42 weeks/26 paid) and Italy (20 weeks).

“This is an essential moment in the mother-child relationship and this extra time is a breakthrough that will place Monaco among the most advanced countries in this field,” said Stéphan Valeri, National Council president. “We will extend this progress to female civil servants under the next law on the status of civil servants, which we will vote in the autumn.”

While welcoming the additional two-week paid leave, Councillor Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo said she was disappointed that further reforms to maternity leave were not considered, in particular the possibility of women returning to partial work following the birth of their baby, half of which would be paid by the company and half subsided by the government. “This would be more than beneficial to the mother and her child,” she said to the council.

Meanwhile, Councillor Nathalie Amoratti-Blanc proposed that the National Council examine the lengthening of paternity leave. “By strengthening the provisions governing paternity leave, the situation of women can only be improved, allowing them, in particular, to lighten and share the famous ‘mental burden’, and to consider resuming their employment.”

Stephen Valeri responded: “I confirm that we will soon table a bill to allow the extension of paternity leave. This is important, of course, for fathers, but also for mothers, as this will promote better sharing, a better balance, and a further parameter for equality between women and men in the organisation of the home.”

The National Council also voted unanimously to amend bill 920, which aims to modernise the right to adoption. While striving to simplify court proceedings, this text highlights three fundamental points: the interest of the child, the importance of free and informed consent and the adequacy of adoption and family life.

The amended laws will now go to the Monaco Government for ratification before being signed off by Prince Albert, a process which is expected to only take weeks.

Monaco has celebrated the birth of 50 young Monegasque residents at a special ceremony at the Town Hall.

Organised every year since 2015, the event is a celebration of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and marks the important occasion of the birth of the first child.

A total of 50 births were registered in Monaco between 1st May 2018 and 30th April 2019, and the young children, together with their beaming parents, were welcomed at the Court of Honour by Mayor Georges Marsan and a host of councillors.

“The Town Hall is present alongside young parents from the birth of their child, and early childhood is more than ever at the heart of our priorities,” said Mayor Georges Marsan in his speech, adding that the reception was part of a policy put in place by the Communal Council for families. “In order to affirm this commitment, we wanted to dedicate a service to these actions: the Early Childhood and Family Service, led by Jean-Luc Magnani under the leadership of my dynamic assistant, Chloé Boscagli Leclercq. This Service is committed to responding to requests for crèche places and to ensuring that the government takes into account future needs in this area.”

The mayor then congratulated the happy parents before giving them a personalised gift, specially created for the occasion.

The 10th edition of operation ‘Monaco Plage Propre’ is currently underway and smokers are once again being asked to keep the Principality’s beaches clean and cigarette-butt free using reusable ashtrays.

In conjunction with the Monaco City Council, the Tourism and Congress Department (DTC) and the Monegasque Sanitation Society (SMA), the campaign kicked off on Saturday 15^th June with a host of initiatives springing up along the coast.

Self-service ashtrays are now available, free of charge, at three points of entry to the Larvotto beach, while pocket ashtrays disguised as key rings are available to the public in three distributors at the Nouvelle Digue Solarium.

They will also be handed out to the public around town throughout the summer by representatives of DTC and at the various tourist information points.

Once these stocks are exhausted, they will be replaced with a new format of ashtray pockets called ‘ashtray click clack’. All ashtrays are reusable or can be kept as souvenirs.

Information flyers entitled ‘Monaco Zero Mégot’, will be available in French and English and will also be distributed to the public throughout the summer to explain the impact of cigarette butts on the environment and encourage everyone’s participation in the fight against this form of pollution.

Meanwhile, the Princess Antoinette Park, a popular location for families, has just modified its rules and is now completely non-smoking. The Exotic Garden of Monaco will soon come on board with a non-smoking area.

To celebrate the 110th anniversary of the creation of the Corps, the 30th anniversary of the Fontvieille Rescue Centre, and the 25th anniversary of the Condamine Rescue Centre, Monaco’s firefighters are organising an open day on Sunday 23^rd June.

The two barracks will be open to the public between 10am and 6pm, also in celebration of World Day for Civil Protection and its 2019 theme: ‘The protection of our children’.

The fun event will feature animations for the kids and workshops for the wider public, who will have the opportunity to witness dynamic rescue manoeuvres and demonstrations to showcase the many facets of the trade.

There will also be places of relaxation, and souvenirs and beverages for sale.

In addition to discovery, it is hoped that the day will encourage young people to pursue a career in the Corps.

Monegasque passengers will be among the first in the world to experience autonomous buses. The government will be introducing free, self-driving, electric busses on the Rock this summer, as Monaco continues its clean, green transition into the future.

The introduction of the first autonomous electric shuttle buses is part of Monaco’s Commitment to the ‘Smart Principality’ scheme, and was developed by the #ExtendedMonaco program.

From 3rd July to 8th September, tourists and residents will have access to the service which will operate on a loop of about one kilometre every 15 minutes. It will include four stops: Place du Palais Princier, the Cathedral, the Oceanographic Museum and Place de la Visitation.

With a seating capacity of 15 passengers including 11 seats, the shuttle will be operated by the Monaco bus company in partnership with the Keolis transport group, which has undertaken around 30 shuttle experiments throughout the world including Paris, Lyon, London and Las Vegas. It has been manufactured by French company Navya.

According to the government, the safety of travelers will be at the heart of this summer experience, with the presence of a CAM operator who can at any time regain control of the vehicle by switching to manual navigation mode.

On 25th June an information session will be held in front of the Oceanographic Museum between 12pm and 2pm for people to become acquainted with this new technology.

If successful, a second bus could be operational in the Larvotto district by autumn.

Photo: © Direction de la Communication – Charly gallo