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Day: 8 September 2020

Agnel pulls out of The Crossing      

by: Cassandra Tanti
08/09/2020

Team Serenity, led by Princess Charlene, has been dealt a blow just days before athletes embark on The Crossing: Calvi to Monaco Water Bike Challenge. Swimmer Yannick Agnel is out due to injury. 
The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation announced the news on Tuesday, saying Agnel was forced to renounce the race due to a minor injury.
Stepping into his place will be record holder Jérôme Fernandez, who has more than 1,460 goals under his belt. Fernandez is a two-time Olympic champion, four-times world champion and three-times European champion. At club level, he has won two Champions League trophies, two French First Division champion titles and four Spanish First Division champion titles.
He will now join team Notorious made up of Monegasque gymnast Kevin Crovetto, and Conor McGregor – former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight champion, for the 12th to 13th September crossing.
The team will be led by Princess Charlene’s brother and General Secretary of her Foundation Gareth Wittstock.
Team Notorious will go head-to-head on a 180 kilometre relay from Corsica to Monaco with team Serenity, which is now made up of Australian cyclist David Tanner and Mathew Bennett – Guinness World Record holder for rowing across the Atlantic with the fastest time, and will be led by Princess Charlene.
The foundation is now accepting donations for the challenge, with proceeds going towards water safety awareness and drowing prevention programmes across the world.
 
 

Mairie teams up with Italy for electric car challenge

by: Cassandra Tanti
08/09/2020

The Mairie will be looking to win another title this year as it enters two teams into the Riviera Electric Challenge, which kicks off on Wednesday as part of Ever Monaco.
The 6th edition of the Riviera Electric Challenge will be held from 9th to 11th September and the Mairie will be represented by two teams – the first will be made up of Françoise Gamerdinger and Karyn Ardisson Salopek at the wheel of an e-Golf, while the second team will be an interesting mix of Jacques Pastor and the Mayor of Dolceacqua, Fulvio Gazzola, in a Kia Niro.
The gathering of electric vehicles will take place on Wednesday 9th September at the end of the day in Cagnes-sur-Mer for a departure scheduled the next day at 8:30am, heading towards the Italian town of Dolceacqua. The route will take participants to Saint-Laurent-du-Var, the Port of Nice, La Turbie via the Eze pass, Peille and Sospel via the Braus pass before crossing the Italian border. Arrival is expected at the end of the day in Dolceacqua where participants will be welcomed for the night. The first day will include two regularity tests and an eco-driving test.
The rally will continue on Friday 11th September with a departure from Dolceacqua towards Monaco, with, beforehand, a loop through the Italian municipalities of Baiardo and San Romolo. A regularity test will also be part of the challenge that day. A visit is planned in the middle of the afternoon in front of the Monaco Town Hall. As part of this final step before arriving at the Grimaldi Forum where the Ever Monaco event is being held, the teams will have to answer a series of questions on environmental themes linked to the actions of the Town Hall.
It is the fourth time that the Mairie has participated in the Riviera Electric Challenge. It won the 2017 competition with Françoise Gamerdinger and Karyn Ardisson Salopek. The Mairie considers the event a “strong symbol of the municipal institution’s environmental commitment, which largely supports the promotion of clean vehicles and the implementation of soft mobility.”
 
 

Minister of State visits schools, police

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/09/2020

Monaco’s new Minister of State Pierre Dartout has wasted no time jumping in with both feet. He spent Monday making the rounds, visiting local schools as well as stopping in at the Public Security offices.

Minister of State Pierre Dartout took time with Minister of the Interior Patrice Cellario and Director of National Education Isabelle Bonnal to attend the opening day of the Lycée Albert 1er, speaking to the students embarking on their final year at the institution.

He then went with his retinue in the afternoon to visit the François d’Assise-Nicolas Barré School where they were joined by Monseigneur David, the Archbishop of Monaco, and spent some time with students in the Grande Section class before moving on to meet with the pupils and teachers from the CP and CM1 classes.

The minister spoke to the children and asked how they felt about returning to school and the new rules they are expected to follow. The children, by and large, expressed their contentment at being allowed to return to the classrooms and to be able to see their friends again.

Minister Dartout made a special point of congratulating the students and staff in their efforts to keep the schools safe by following health regulations. There are 518 teachers and 5,774 pupils enrolled in the Principality this year.

That same morning, the minister took a detour with his entourage and stopped in at the Public Security offices. Richard Marangoni, Director of Security, met with them along with the heads of several divisions.

Click on the images below to enlarge…


Photos of Public Security: © Communication Department / Vitali Manuel
Photos of schools: © Direction de la Communication / Michael Alesi
 
 

Pool reopens, with restrictions

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/09/2020

The Saint-Charles aquatic complex has reopened and resumed all activities and courses with measures adapted to the current health situation.

The Mairie of Monaco announced the reopening of the Saint-Charles swimming pool and complex on 7thSeptember, albeit with plenty of new rules in place to ensure the protection of all visitors.

In order to meet health regulations, there have been limits placed on the number of people allowed to participate according to each activity. For example, the number of people permitted to be in the pool at once is set at 30 for free swimming. Aquatic lessons such as aquabike, aquagym, aquados and aqua-trampo fitness can accommodate 16 people per class, whilst the prenatal classes can only take 8. Baby swim is also back on, but only one parent may now accompany their child, rather than the previous two. The gym remains closed for the time being.

In order to stay in compliance with social distancing regulations, a few new instructions have been put in place. Mask wearing is mandatory in the hallways, changing rooms and up to the edge of the pool. Plexiglass barriers have been installed at the entry and antibacterial gel is available in various areas around the complex.

Photo courtesy Mairie de Monaco

Changing rooms can be used, but it will no longer be possible to store items, not even clothing or shoes, in the lockers. Visitors must bring their belongings out to the pool area and keep them at the pool’s edge.

Entry and exit to the pool will be in a set pattern with the entry access coming through the men’s locker room and exiting through the women’s. Swimmers must shower before entering the water. None of the usual amenities are currently available for use, such as hair dryers, nor is access to the jacuzzi and hydrojets.

Those who come for group lessons are asked to not come too far in advance as waiting is not permitted.

The Saint-Charles complex has been awarded the Monaco Safe distinction, given only to establishments who meet the guidelines set forth by the Prince’s government, the Department of Health Action and the Monaco Welcome Office. The label tells visitors that the conditions of the establishment are in compliance with the local health rules put in place in the fight against Covid-19.
 
Photo courtesy: Mairie of Monaco 
 
 

Monaco sidesteps crippling fine

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/09/2020

After years of litigation and a hefty €141 million compensation package to be paid by the State to Caroli Immo, a solution to the thorny Esplanade des Pêcheurs project has been attained.

A lawsuit brought against the State over the cancelling of the Esplanade des Pêcheurs project on Port Hercule by SAM Caroli Immo has now found a suitable solution. After extensive discussions with the Sovereign Prince and the company, the project will now go forward in a modified form.

According to a press release issued by the Prince’s Palace, the new project will be smaller in scale and must “provide the surfaces necessary for the sustainability of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the Principality and preservation of access to emergency services. The modified program will include a private building as well as a State-owned housing building, premises for port professionals and a museum dedicated to Man and the Sea.”

In return for these concessions, SAM Caroli will waive the enormous compensation granted by the Supreme Court and will continue with the works. The project will take an estimated four years to complete.

The Prince and his government had been open to finding a positive outcome throughout the summer, a position also advocated by the National Council, so this scenario has been a win-win for all concerned.

“The Sovereign Prince wished that an amicable solution be sought, protecting the finances of the State and the interests of the Principality,” said the Palace in the statement.

According to article 33 of the Constitution, the decommissioning of property in the public domain can only be pronounced by a law, submitted to the vote of the National Councillors. As the Palace indicates, the Government “is responsible for finding the terms and conditions necessary for this amicable solution”. The National Council, within the framework of its constitutional prerogatives, has been tasked to ensure that the final agreement is balanced.

The project had originally fell apart due to several factors including the risks it posed to the Monaco Grand Prix operations, a worry highlighted by the organisers of the event, the Automobile Club of Monaco, and supported by the government.

 

Top photo: The project will be located at the entrance of Port Hercule. Monaco Life, all rights reserved
 
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