Month: June 2020

Prince Albert, Archbishop Dominique-Marie David, Mayor Georges Marsan and National Council President Stéphane Valéri have joined a host of council and government members to inaugurate the new Court of Honour at City Hall.
A ceremony was held on Wednesday 24^th June to commemorate the new court, which took eight months to complete – longer than expected due to confinement. It is a “place of reception, meetings and exchanges (…) which has today found a new splendor,” said Mayor Georges Marsan in his welcome speech.
This major project, carried out by the Municipal Technical Services under the leadership of François Lallemand, was designed to increase security at the Court of Honour with the addition of an electric gate and a video surveillance system.
It also included the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles and a new olive tree in the centre of the court. The original olive tree, planted in 1932 by the Local Traditions Committee, had contracted a disease and was replaced by a new tree of the same variety chosen from the olive trees of the old Parcours Vita as a “symbol of peace and attachment to our country”, thus perpetuating “the memory of the work of our ancestors whose culture of these trees was the main resource,” said Mr Marsan.

The Mayor concluded his speech by warmly thanking all the people and services who contributed to the success of the project before inviting Prince Albert II to unveil the commemorative plaque.
The ceremony continued with a symbolic award ceremony for the Monegasque Language Competition. Due to the health crisis linked to the coronavirus, the traditional competition had to be canceled this year but the Town Hall, in agreement with the DENJS, wanted to honour 12 Terminale students who had completed their studies in the Monegasque language. In his speech, Georges Marsan congratulated them for their motivation during these 10 years of learning, saying it was “proof of their attachment to our culture.”
Finally, the Mayor took a moment to honour Baroness Elizabeth-Ann de Massy who passed away recently, recounting her unwavering attachment to the Principality and its traditions.
 
Photos courtesy Mairie de Monaco
 

Compagnie Monegasque de Banque has handed over a cheque for close to half a million euros to the Princess Grace Hospital after an incredibly successful fundraising campaign.  

Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG) has been on the front lines, organising screenings and treating patients who had contracted the virus.

In order to ensure that everyone received the care they needed, the hospital mobilised all of its teams. This came at considerable cost as vast amounts of protective equipment was purchased along with biomedical investments, and staff were put on round the clock call.

The Compagnie Monegasque de Banque (CMB) recognised the possible financial strain on the hospital and leapt into action. Within a month, the bank had raised funds from customers and employees totalling €470,955. The bank itself started off the initiative by putting €100,000 in the pot. This is in addition to the 800 litres of hydroalcoholic gel and 11,000 masks that the bank had previously donated to the hospital.

With the worst of the virus behind the Principality, this money will help speed up the transformation of the hospital from a confinement-era setting to one that is able to adapt to the evolution of the epidemic, as well as continue to treat those who are suffering with other conditions. 

Several areas of the hospital will benefit from the generosity of donors, including the acquisition of new equipment such as respirators, neuromuscular stimulators, operating theatre devices, ultrasound scanners, pulmonary monitoring equipment and laboratory automatons.

 
Photo: © Manuel Vitali Communications Department
 
 

An accident at the AS Monaco training centre in La Turbie on Monday has resulted in the death of a construction worker, prompting widespread condolence from the football community.
The victim, who had been working to shore up a cliff face, was struck by a rock that broke free from the cliff and struck him as it fell. Another person present at the scene has been hospitalised for shock.
“AS Monaco has the pain of announcing that an accident has occurred at the La Turbie training centre site on Monday at around 2pm, causing the death of a person working for a construction company,” the club said in a statement.
AS Monaco has not provided further details on the victim, however L’Equipe reports that it was a man aged in his 50’s who was using a mechanical digger on the site. The incident occurred in an area that is not readily accessible by the public, players or staff.
The training centre is undergoing a major transformation with the enlargement of two sections. The €55 million project will see a new seven story building erected on one end, and an additional training ground at the opposite end of the centre. It was on this future new training ground that the accident occurred as the workers were embedding safety nets into the rock face of the mountain.
The gendarmerie were called to the scene to launch a formal investigation, as it would in any industrial accident, and the prosecutor’s office in Nice was alerted.
The club expressed its condolences following the accident, saying: “Deeply affected, AS Monaco wishes to give its full support to the family of the victim.”
Players including Cesc Fabregas took to social media to express their sadness and several other Ligue 1 teams reached out to Monaco on Twitter to send condolences and thoughts for the victim’s family.
 

https://t.co/ujX8CjqDC6

— AS Monaco ?? (@AS_Monaco) June 22, 2020

 
No training sessions had been planned this week but there were players present who were being tested for Covid-19 after having contact with a person outside the club who had contracted the virus.