Clean-up operation in Monaco's ports

The Hercules and Fontvieille ports have been closed because of a large amount of debris that has washed into the sea from the hinterland rivers following storm Alex.
On Tuesday morning, the Department of Marine Affairs, assisted by the Maritime and Airport Police Division, Monaco Firefighters and the Ports Operation Company (SEPM), established a dam to capture the waste.
It does not, however, prevent boats from accessing the two ports. In these cases, a quick and partial opening in the dam is made.

The ports will remain like this until the large amounts of debris subsides. SEPM is gradually working to remove that which has already entered the ports.
The Department of Marine Affairs utilised its newest recruit, Vitamar III, to remove the large deadwoods, which are likely to pose a safety risk around ports.
 
Photos © Communication Branch / Michael Alesi
 
 

Happy birthday Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort

In celebrating the past 15 years of the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort, Monaco Life was excited to learn about its future 15 years, and discovered some exciting projects on the horizon that will transform the peninsula as we know it today.
It was not the biggest 15th birthday bash that the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort would have hoped to host – given the ongoing Covid situation and, to a lesser extent, Sunday’s bleak weather. But it was a fantastic celebration nonetheless, featuring an extravagant 20+ course “brunch” prepared by Michelin star Chef Marcel Ravin and his team, endless glasses of Veuve Clicquot champagne, synchronised swimmers, a magician, DJ, ice-cream bar and a giant birthday cake.
“It is a very important moment for the staff, who have given a lot for this company,” General Director Frederic Darnot told Monaco Life. “We obviously couldn’t do a big party with Covid and the protocols, so we put all our efforts into this brunch.”

Photo: General Director Frederic Darnet, by Monaco Life

And it was a sold-out affair, with 180 of the resort’s loyal clientele joining in the celebration, lured by the return of the ‘Best Brunch in Monaco’, as voted by the people last year.
Much has been achieved by the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort in its relatively short existence. It has won numerous awards, achieved huge sustainability goals, and – most recently – took out the Best Hotel Pool in Europe.
Indeed, the turquoise, sand-bottomed lagoon is the most striking feature of this sprawling resort, which is set out over four hectares of landscaped gardens. In a country that is only two-square kilometres in size, it seems particularly brave of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) Group to have carved out this oasis on the peninsula of Monaco.
© FABBIO GALATIOTO

“There used to be a summer cinema here, and a discotheque, Le Paradise, I remember dancing right there…” laughs Frederic, pointing to the courtyard.
The grandeur of the resort is also one of its famous features: the enormous foyer with giant arched windows that draw you to l’Orange Verte; the equally gigantic artworks by local artist Yaniv Edery; 332 rooms; the casino; the luxurious Suite Eleven; the Michelin star restaurant Blue Bay; and the Cinq Mondes spa.
Right now, there are 285 staff who make the resort run smoothly – far less than there would be in a normal year. But they all work to the same standard set by Frederic Darnot and SBM.
© FABBIO GALATIOTO

“It is thanks to all the staff, everyone works towards the same vision,” says Frederic. “We have 40,000 square metres of resort here, with a varied clientele – they come from the Orient, Eastern Europe, North America, the Middle East – that is one of our strong points.”
The resort has held the Green Globe certificate since 2014 and was awarded the prestigious Green Globe Standard certification in 2018. It is recognition of the staff’s continued efforts to manage energy and water resources more economically, to raise awareness and support actions in partnerships with other associations, and to strive to produce a healthier and more responsible cuisine.
The latter is a philosophy nourished by Executive Chef Marcel Ravin, who has been with the resort since the beginning. Marcel grew up in Martinique, cooking with the bounty that he and his grandmother gathered from their Creole garden. Today, the resort boasts its own organic vegetable garden that supplies the Michelin star restaurant. The restaurant is also a signatory of the Mister Good Fish initiative, promising to put underfished, seasonal species on the menu.
“I wanted to create a universe that resembles where my identity began, and I was lucky to be able to work in this environment and that the SBM trusted me,” Chef Marcel Ravin told Monaco Life. “I am living a daydream. This is why, even in difficult times, we remember what we have.”
Photo: Executive Chef Marcel Ravin by Monaco Life

In 2015, as the Blue Bay celebrated its 10th anniversary year, Chef Ravin was awarded his first Michelin star, propelling the restaurant into an elite club of the finest restaurants in Monaco.
It was the ultimate validation for a chef who has worked for two decades in the industry and who has uniquely blended Mediterranean cuisine with Creole influences, as well as for his team, which normally equates to around in 60.
“I talked with my team after getting back from Japan and I said, ‘Do you want a Michelin star?’ They said ‘yes’. So, I said again, ‘Do you want a Michelin star?’ They said ‘yes’. And for a third time I said ‘Do you want a Michelin star? They said ‘yes!’. So, we erased everything and started from a blank canvas. One year later, we got a Michelin Star,” remembers the chef fondly. “I am so lucky to have a wonderful team who understands me and are always here for me.”
Despite his achievements, Chef Ravin believes it is important to always set goals and to advance. “I come into my kitchen every day and it feels like I am in a boxing ring and I have to win the match,” he says. “You have to be able to get the best out of people around you and inspire them to believe we are capable of more.”
Receiving two Michelin stars is one of those goals, and the chef acknowledges that it is a difficult – although not impossible – task in such a large resort.
General Director Frederic Darnot and Executive Chef Marcel Ravin © Fabbio Galatioto

So, what do the next 15 years look like for the entire Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort?
“We have to rebuild the rooms, which is an enormous project, and we have the casino that has not reopened since it was closed during the lockdown – which we are perhaps repurposing,” reveals Frederic. “There is also the idea that we will connect with the Meridien Hotel to create one big resort, integrating the new Larvotto beach. It will be an entertainment zone with many more restaurants, a discotheque, a new Sporting, etc. So, it will be an entirely new complex.”
© FABBIO GALATIOTO

Sunday’s incredible birthday brunch ended in an important show of solidarity with the victims of Friday’s storms, with all remaining food donated to the Sospel Firefighters Association ‘solidarité Roya’.
Champagne Brunches will be held every Sunday at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort from 12pm to 3pm.
To see more photos of the birthday celebrations, see the gallery below. Click on the pictures to enlarge…

Photos © FABBIO GALATIOTO 
 
 
 

Catherine Fautrier speaks about new life in Madrid

Catherine Fautrier’s career has taken her from China to Australia, and now to Madrid to serve as Monaco’s new Ambassador to Spain. 

Catherine Fautrier, Monaco’s Ambassador to Spain, is no stranger to the country. From 2006 to 2008, she was on the team for the Monaco pavilion at the Zaragoza International Exhibition, eventually becoming Deputy Commissioner General.

Before that she was an active member of the National Council in Monaco and stood out for her strong stands on women’s rights issues. After her Spanish experience, she was appointed Commissioner General for the Monaco Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, before being appointed Ambassador to China a year later. This was followed by a stint as Ambassador for the Principality in Australia before returning to the continent and taking the posting in Madrid.

She has taken over in a trying time, especially as Madrid faces another lockdown situation. In speaking to Monaco Info this week, she said: “The people, the community of Madrid, are ordered to stay in by Spain. They must stay here, but daily life stays the same. The shops aren’t closed, they go to work, they go to university, the restaurants are open; it’s a particular kind of confinement.”

Catherine Fautrier’s goals for her time there have three distinct axes. She wants to focus on tourism, joint cultural aspects and the topic closest to her heart – environmental protection and renewable energy. On that point she has high praise for the Spanish saying, “It is true that Spain is, in this matter, the European leader of the market. They are very, very advanced.”

As for tourism, she thinks that the two countries will be able to work together well. The seat of the World Organisation of Tourism is located in the Spanish capital and gives Mme Fautrier access and the latest first-hand reports on the state of global tourism.

“There are many things to do in that domain with the world health situation and the impact of Covid on the tourism community.”

Cultural ties are a bit more tenuous but include performances of the Ballets de Monte Carlo in Spain on a reasonably regular basis.

Thello to end Monaco-Milan service

Italian rail service Thello has announced the end of service between Milan and Marseilles in 2021 due, in part, to reduced passenger numbers since the onset of the Covid crisis.

The Trenitalia subsidiary, which has run regular service between Milan and Marseilles via Monaco and Nice since 2014, is shutting down service next year. As the only competition for SNCF TER in the region, this comes as a blow to international commuters who will now have to pay whatever price, and deal with whatever service, as dictated by SNCF.

“Thello, a 100% subsidiary of Trenitalia, is preparing to cease the so-called day train activity created in 2014 and consisting of three daily round trips between Marseille, Nice and Milan,” said the CFDT Cheminots, a French railway workers union, on its internet site. “Thello is the first alternative operator to market links serving several French national stations as part of an international service.”

The termination of this service will cost 38 jobs in Nice including drivers, attendants, agents and supervisory positions.

Trenitalia defends its decision, stating the company is in a transitional period and has a much larger high-speed project in the pipeline with France, though the pandemic has delayed it coming to fruition. So far, no dates for the announcement of this new venture can be confirmed.

Rail performance prior to Thello trains was not the best, a fact pointed out by Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur-based regional executives. It is an issue that is now being revisited, especially as there has been a tentative commitment to invest €350 million over the next decade to improve infrastructure and modernise the train networks.

The commitment would come in the form of a performance contract between PACA and SNCF Reseau, which will be voted on 9th October at a Plenary Assembly of the Region and again at the next board of directors meeting for SNCF Reseau.