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Day: 23 October 2020

No more late nights out

by: Cassandra Tanti
23/10/2020

Bars and restaurants in Monaco have been ordered to close by 11.30pm under a new range of restrictions announced by Minister of State Pierre Dartout on Friday evening.
The announcement follows a decision by the French government to put the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes department under a strict 9pm curfew.
“Even if the situation in Monaco is less worrying than elsewhere, I must tell you that it remains serious,” said the minister of state during a broadcast address to the citizens of the Principality.
“Today almost all of us know someone who has had to self-quarantine or who is or has been diagnosed with the virus,” he continued. “This shows very clearly that the virus is actively circulating. We are in the second wave.”
The minister revealed that the incidence rate in Monaco is 81.58 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the Alpes-Maritimes the incidence rate is 153.
“This is why the 9pm curfew is justified in France, but it is not justified, for the moment, in Monaco,” said the minister. “What is worrying, however, is that this incidence rate has doubled in one week.”
As a result, the Prince’s government will be tightening restrictions in the Principality, effective Saturday 24th October and lasting until 1st December.
Bars and restaurants will have to close at 11.30pm and meal reservations will be mandatory. Tables will be limited to six guests, and meals at high standing tables is not allowed.
The government will further strengthen checks to ensure establishments are complying with the rules.
Meanwhile, the Monte-Carlo Casino will be closed from midnight.
Sports activities will be restricted once again, including the suspension of all “combat sports” apart from professional games, and amateur sports trips outside of Monaco will not be allowed.
Finally, the number of passengers on CAM buses will be limited, however there will be an increase in frequency during rush hour traffic to compensate for the limitations.
Financial assistance
To support affected businesses and employees, the government is maintaining support measures such as the CTTR (Reinforced Total Temporary Unemployment) and reductions in social contributions.
“And of course, as you know, the Princely Government is deploying an ambitious recovery plan to the tune of €75 million, approved by the National Council, to support our economy,” said Pierre Dartout.
The restrictions will be evaluated and discussed regularly at the Joint Monitoring Committee in conjunction with the National Council. “Any new measures which may be necessary will be submitted to the Sovereign Prince,” said the minister of state.
Gatherings with family and friends
According to the government, one in two Covid infections occur during extended family gatherings.
While not wanting to “intervene in the private sphere” because “Monaco is a country of freedoms”, the minister said the government strongly recommends people avoid large gatherings with friends and family, adding: “It’s about taking care of yourself and the people you love.”
Citizens are also advised to avoid unnecessary travel in regions heavily affected by the virus.
Workers
Residents from the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var who travel to Monaco for work and who are affected by the 9pm curfew will need to carry the appropriate French document which cites travel for professional reasons.
For Italian employees, it will be possible to cross the Alpes-Maritimes to reach Italy with the same French travel certificate.
Health system
The minister of state said Monaco’s hospital and patient care infrastructure is “efficient and ready”, adding: “Since the start of the crisis, our health policy has enabled us to ensure an effective response from the hospital by avoiding congestion.”
He also thanked the health professionals, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, laboratory assistants, and pharmacists who have been mobilised for several months “to ensure the best care in the face of this virus which is not yet fully known and for which there is still no vaccine.”
Covid testing
The minister said the Principality continues to expand its testing capacity, which is currently 1,850 per week. “Proportionately, we are among the highest in Europe,” said the minister, revealing that 1,400 PCR tests carried out last week.
Since the return of school, 648 tests have been undertaken returning two positives.
 
Photo © Monaco Government Communication Department / Manuel Vitali
 
 

Hermann to fulfil lifelong dream in Vendée Globe

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/10/2020

Pierre Casiraghi will see his German racing partner Boris Hermann skippering the first Monegasque yacht to participate in the Vendée Globe, a gruelling round-the-world sailing race in which he will compete for the top spot, as well as collect data on climate change.
The Vendée Globe, the world’s only non-stop, non-assisted, solo, around the world sailing race, will kick off on 8th November with Monaco’s first-ever boat in the running. A 60-foot Imoca sailing yacht named Seaexplorer will see Boris Hermann at the helm when the competition kicks off from Sables-d’Olonne. It will also end there 75+ days later.
Due to family commitments, Pierre Casiraghi has decided to sit the race out and told Corriere della Sera, “I have a family now and I think they are happy that I am not leaving…and then I’m certainly not a sailing professional with the same experience as Boris.”
This leaves Hermann, who has dreamed of participating in this race since he was a teenager, in charge. The challenge is daunting for even the most seasoned sailor and he admits to some trepidation.
“It will be the longest I will be solo on a boat, and so I will see how I react to that,” he says. “I feel I know myself, the ocean and the boat. I am quite confident. What I don’t know is that I have been quite fortunate until now in my sailing and I have never had a difficult moment, a catastrophe. How am I going to react (…) if I have a structural problem, the boom breaks, the mainsail rips or something like that?”
The idea to participate has been several years in the making, dating back to 2013. In 2016, Casiraghi and Hermann formed Team Malizia with the goal of taking part in the Vendée Globe. The idea expanded into an opportunity for scientific observation as well as a racing one, and now the mission of the Seaexplorer has become two-fold.
A mini laboratory has been included onboard that will be constantly analysing water samples as part of a research project with partners Geomar, Max Planck, and IFREMER. The samples are collected by an electric pump that will then studied and converted into usable data for the scientific community. This means of data collection is far less expensive than sending out separate, mission-specific boats, as the vessels in the race will be covering vast swaths of the sea anyway.
The journey will take Hermann on a lap around Antarctica where he will encounter huge storms, prematurely melting ice caps and invasions of seaweed. He will experience and witness climate change first hand and communicate this to the world.
The task of preparing for the race has been complicated by Covid, meaning Hermann will not be able to be on-site until just before the race. He will also not be able to welcome friends and family to see him off, making for a rather lonely departure. He has been carefully self-isolating with his wife and newborn baby and will take a final Covid test 48 hours prior to the start of the race.
The competition will start at 1pm on 8th November. The Yacht Club of Monaco and the Team Malizia site will broadcast regular updates on the Seaexplorer’s progress. Additionally, Hermann will send regular satellite transmissions to Casiraghi during the race. But in the end, it is one man and the sea. How does he feel about this?
“You have to pray a little bit to the gods of the sea,” Hermann says with good humour. “And I will give them whisky once in a while.”
 
Photo: Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Hermann, by Boris Hermann Racing 
 
 

Free Business Expo

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/10/2020

The Monaco Business Expo’s 8th annual event will be held on Tuesday at the Auditorium Rainier III, enlightening entrepreneurs on the specifics of doing business in the Principality.

If the coronavirus crisis has taught us anything, it is that no one is an island, especially when it comes to economic security and the importance of help from local authorities. To this end, representatives from Monaco’s local administrative entities will feature prominently at the Monaco Business Expo being held on Tuesday 27th October from 9am to 6pm.

The trade fair aims to “benefit all the services dedicated to companies” and features various workshops and networking events. In addition to the exhibition area, conferences and round tables follow one another throughout the day.” Speed-networking, a fast-paced way to meet as many potential investors and entrepreneurs as possible in the shortest amount of time, will also be featured.

The event will inform visitors and entrepreneurs about the Principality as a business destination and will feature several helpful local associations and organisations. Amongst these are the Welcome Office, the Financing and Economic Development Division of the Department of Economic Expansion, the Department of Labour and Employment Services, the Social Funds of Monaco, the French Customs Office in Monaco, the Monegasque Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies and the Graduates Integration Commission.

The Monaco Business Expo will take place in respect of all barrier gestures and in strict adhesion to Covid regulations. Entry is free.

 

 

MEB not stopped by pandemic

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/10/2020

The Monaco Economic Board (MEB) took stock of a difficult year at its annual General Assembly meeting earlier this week and discussed how it plans to help with economic recovery.  

The MEB met on Tuesday for its GA meeting at the Yacht Club of Monaco after Covid-related delays had prevented them from gathering sooner.

President Michel Dotta opened the meeting with words of optimism for the future, referring back to another challenging time before the pandemic, in the not-too-distant past. “During the 2008 crisis, Monaco showed resilience (…) Today, building on previous experience, our institutions, Government and National Council, together, demonstrate exceptional responsiveness.”

Meanwhile, Guillaume Rose, the MEB’s Executive General Director, recapped 2019’s activities, putting a fine point on the tremendous amount of work that was carried out last year.

In all, more than 60 operations were carried out both at home and abroad including economic missions, welcoming delegations, targeted promotion and prospecting operations, conferences, training courses and workshops with member companies. Internationally, the MEB met with both public and private potential partners working to form alliances with entities as diverse as those in cultural, scientific or sporting fields.

As the continuation of this work for 2020 did not exactly go to plan with travel curbed worldwide due to the global epidemic, the MEB turned to a more technologically savvy approach.

Hosting “MEBinars”, or webinars put on by the Board, they worked with local businesses to take stock of the main sectors of activity in the Principality as well as to allow businesses to benefit from video-conferences where leading economists and businesspeople gave presentations, including Ludovic Subran and Jean-Pierre Petit.

Now the MEB is taking things one step farther and has scheduled an e-mission meeting with the Chambers of Commerce from four major Russian cites: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov and Novosibirsk. The e-meetings will give business owners on both sides an opportunity to meet and form potential alliances. There will be translations to assist both sides in achieving their goals, allowing the players to have a free and easy dialogue with each other.

In addition, the MEB has also produced several surveys to help the Government analyse feedback from the field on the situation of companies or on teleworking.

The MEB has also set about organising several meetings with partners to set goals for the upcoming year. Guillaume Rose said that the MEB would move as quickly as possible and would join in the digital transformation of companies, supporting the teams of Frédéric Genta, Interministerial Delegate in Charge of the Digital Transition.

 

Photo from left to right: Chairman of the Monaco Economic Board Michel Dotta, Minister of Finance and the Economy Jean Castellini, Chairman of the National Council’s Finance and National Economy Commission Balthazar Seydoux, Executive Director General of the Monaco Economic Board Guillaume Rose.

New underwater exhibition

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/10/2020

A new exhibition featuring the latest works by innovative undersea photographer Olivier Jude entitled Profondeurs (Depths) is now on show at the Maison de France.

The Federation of French Groupings of Monaco is exhibiting Profondeurs from 16th October to 6th November. It is photographer Olivier Jude’s take on life under the seas today. His works are drawn from expeditions to the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, Bali, Sipdadan in Malaysia and closer to home, right here in the Mediterranean.

The show, under the patronage of Prince Albert II, showcases his work in a way that is meant to make visitors think about our human relationship to the sea. The photos include model and fellow diver Sylvie Laurent intermingling with coral reefs or swimming amongst the fish, reminding us of “the idea of ​​human interaction at the heart of underwater biodiversity.”

There are also a series of scenes, entwining the boundaries between land and sea and between the natural structures of the Med mixed with the evidence of human contact over the ages. Shipwrecks close to the coastline illustrate an underwater maritime heritage that is now as much part of the seascape as coral reefs or sea grass.

The artist’s photos are not retouched, giving them a rawness and highlighting “a very particular dialogue between man, the underwater fauna and flora, imbued with deep respect.”

Jude’s wife, Designer Valérie Jude, also has a hand in the works. She created the underwater clothing, intended to blend and harmonise with the natural beauty of the seabed.

Visitors can experience the Profondeurs exhibit Monday to Friday from 10am to 12pm and again from 3pm to 6:30pm, except on public holidays, from now until the 6th of November.

 
Photo © Olivier Jude