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Day: 3 November 2019

Storm Amélie wreaks havoc

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/11/2019

Monaco and the French Riviera were battered by heavy storms on the weekend, with flash flooding, fallen trees and wall collapses resulting in over a hundred emergency callouts.

It was in the early hours of Sunday morning that the worst of the storm hit, with violent downpours wreaking havoc on the region. The storm, named Amélie by forecaster Météo France, was “the first autumnal storm, requiring particular vigilance”. They had issued an orange weather warning for around midnight.

 

 

 

More than 32mm of rain fell within an hour in Valbonne, while Eze experienced 51mm over the same time frame. Nice, Saint-Laurent du Var and Cagnes sur Mer were also particularly affected, with many roads flooded.

 

 

 

Several hundred lightning strikes were recorded: 92 in Nice, 60 in Mougins… in total 732 lightning strikes hit the region within the space of just three hours.

 

The Alpes Maritimes fire brigade responded to 160 calls for help with everything from flooded cellars to landslides. Emergency crews rescued 14 people trapped in rapidly rising waters in the Nice neighbourhood of Bon Voyage. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall triggered a major landslide that covered the A8 motorway in l’Ariane at 3.48am, closing down the highway for several hours.

Due to a landslide, the RM 6098 (Beausoleil – Basse Corniche) was closed in two directions from 6pm Saturday. A detour via the Moyenne Corniche was put in place.

By Sunday afternoon, around 50 emergency teams were still surveying the area.

 

The orange alert remained in place early Sunday, although it had been lifted by late morning as thunderstorms eased. The Nice-Cannes marathon went ahead as planned but the 8am start was delayed by 30 minutes due to the weather.

The weekend deluge follows violent thunderstorms on Thursday in Nice which flooded numerous roads and closed down parts of the city to traffic.

In stark contrast, skies above Monaco and the French Riviera are forecast to be clear on Monday with highs of around 16 degrees Celsius.

 

Court of Honour restoration at the Mairie

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/11/2019

A five phase plan to renovate, add additional security and install electric vehicle charging stations at the Cour de Honneur in the Monaco town hall begins today.

The project is set to last roughly five months and will cover changes as vast as updating technical networks, renewing the stone works of the entire court, refurbishing the area around certain office spaces and moving plants and planters.

Though the works are set to be staggered, there will inevitably be some small inconveniences until the project is complete. For example, access to the Cour d’Honneur from Avenue Saint-Martin will be suspended for both vehicles and pedestrian and the courtyard will not be available for weddings during this time.

Monaco’s Town Hall is amongst the oldest of all the country’s institutions. It employs 650 people and encompasses 19 municipal services that cover social services, culture, leisure activities, everyday life and general internal and administrative services.

 

 

Claude Gauthier exhibit

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/11/2019

Monegasque painter Claude Gauthier, known for vivid colours and a retro pictorial style, is now exhibiting at the Auditorium Rainier III.

The artist’s exhibition, organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs, will run from 31st October to 17th November, giving admirers old and new a chance to see first-hand the Order of Monegasque Culture recipient’s paintings, including those from some of his latest efforts entitled Au fils du temps.

His oeuvre depicts scenes from the Principality, the Côte d’Azur and many of the places he has travelled, often inspired by actual news events and offering a unique perspective on the annual events happening in and around Monaco such as the Circus Festival and the land extension project.

The artist began painting in 1965 and his subsequent renditions come in an enormous range of sizes, from huge wall hangings to tiny postcards, showing a range not often seen and many of his artworks are on permanent display at the Musée d’Art Naïf in Nice.

Doors are open from 2pm to 7pm daily.

Guardian Angels of Monaco in Nice to help the poor

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/11/2019

Every Monday night, the Guardian Angels of Monaco take their show on the road and head to Nice to distribute 400 meals to the needy. Tonight, they will do so with special help from Princess Camilla de Bourbon of the Two Siciles.

The Guardian Angels have been leading a fight against poverty and hunger amongst some of the impoverished people in Nice for the past 12 years.

Eight Monegasque restauranteurs prepare meals each Monday and the volunteers meet at Place de Moulins to organise, before heading down the backstreets of Nice to distribute meals to needy souls, many of whom only eat this one time that day.

The additional help and attention brought to the plight of the poor by the presence of Princess Camilla is expected to highlight the problem and alert others to the situation.

“This is not the first time that the Princess has supported us, whether financially or directly on the ground,” Bruna Maule Cassio told La Gazette de Monaco in an interview last week. “The fact that she takes her time to volunteer touches us a lot, she’s an incredible personality with whom I’m proud to be able to work.”

The tour of Nice will be filmed and broadcast at a charity event hosted by singer Vlad Scala on 15 November in the Hôtel de Paris’s Empire Room. The gala will bring together many guests including the ambassador of the Guardian Angels, Victoria Silvstedt, as well as tenors and musicians from the MonteCarlo Opera.

The evening’s festivities will raise funds so the association can provide housing or pay the rent over the cold winter months of families in desperate straits.