French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered a second nationwide lockdown starting Friday.
The details of the new restrictions were revealed by the president on Wednesday evening during a televised address from the Elysées Palace.
The new lockdown is slightly more flexible than the first one in spring, when the French were confined to their homes for eight weeks under strict conditions.
Under new confinement rules, schools will remain open while universities will close. Public services will continue, and construction workers are to remain on the job, while all non-essential businesses including bars and restaurants will close.
Companies are again being told to allow staff to work from home, and official forms explaining people’s reason for not being at home will have to be produced.
The aim, said President Macron, is to restrict social interactions where the virus is easily spread.
The lockdown will be in place for four weeks initially.
The questions now is: will Monaco follow suit?
Photo: Screenshot from President Macron’s address on Wednesday night
Liverpool FC documentary takes out top Sportel Award
A documentary about Liverpool football club and its rise to the top of the English league in a year marked by the Covid health crisis has earned its creator Marc Sauvourel top prize at this year’s Sportel Awards in Monaco.
Despite an uncertain health climate and new restrictive measures put in place in France and the Principality of Monaco, Sportel Awards maintained its Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 27th October, while respecting the current health protocols.
Under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II, the Sportel Awards Ceremony rewarded the most outstanding sports images and the best sports book of the year.
The jury, chaired by four-time world judo champion Clarisse Agbegnenou, debated for two days in Monaco to select the finest works from the numerous submissions by production companies worldwide.
A host of great sports champions were on stage at the Prince Pierre auditorium of the Grimaldi Forum to present the prizes to the 2020 winners.
At the end of the ceremony, Prince Albert II and the jury president presented the Jury Prize to ‘Out of the rain’ by Marc Sauvourel, aired by CANAL+, France.
The documentary tells the story of English football club Liverpool. “With four national titles won in the 1970s and six more won in the ’80s, the club lost some of their lustre in 1990s. Thirty years later, the Reds supporters returned to the immeasurable joy of a final victory at the end of a season quite unlike any other.”
The 2020 Sportel Award winners: Best Slow Motion Prize – FairPlay, Michael Lasserre – World Athletics Monaco Discovery Prize – Risques en cascade, Pierre-Etienne Léonard – France Télévisions, France Innovation Prize – Virtual fans, Ryunosuke Hosaka – TBS Television Inc., Japan Best Promotion Programme – Boston Celtics deadly challenges Steve Davis – The Famous Group, USA Advertising Prize – Christian Blachas – PMU Sport: Émotions fooooooooortes ! Agence Buzzman, France Digital Prize – WWE ThunderDome – Virtual Fan Experience, Jon Slusser, Chris Kaiser, CJ Davis, Matt Marcus – The Famous Group, Jury Prize – Out of the rain, Marc Sauvourel – Canal +, France Peace and Sport Documentary Prize – Into the storm, Adam Brown – Raw TV Ltd, United Kingdom Sport Book Prize – A life behind the lens – Thirty years of award winning photography of sports most iconic moments, Richard Pelham – Pitch Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom
Volume two of the only manga to be produced out of Monaco, Blitz, hit book stores last week. We caught up with its creator and co-author Cedric Biscay to learn more about the groundbreaking series and how Monaco fits into this new and exciting world.
On 22nd October, Cedric Biscay and his team launched the second edition of Blitz, the latest in a manga series about a group of young chess players competing in a tournament that takes its hero to the legendary Monte-Carlo Casino. The manga was created in collaboration with the greatest chess player in history – Garry Kasparov.
Cedric Biscay is the CEO and Founder of Monaco-based Shibuya Productions, responsible also for the triumphant comeback of the Shenmue saga in 2019 on PS4 and PC, winner of three world records in the Guinness book, producer of the multi-award-winning documentary Sad Hill Unearthed on Netflix, and the upcoming Astroboy Reboot series. This year, he is the recipient of the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Certificate of Honour. Monaco Life: How long did it take to complete Blitz volume two? Was much of it done during lockdown and did this affect the story in any way?
Cedric Biscay: It took six months to complete. Unfortunately, we lost valuable time due to the quarantine regarding the release date. Ideally, we want to make a volume every four months.
The lockdown did not affect the story, however it did enable me to progress faster on volumes three and four. How successful was volume one?
To date, we have sold more than 7,000 copies in France, which is very good for a volume one of a new series, especially considering the quarantine has affected volume one in two aspects.
Firstly, there were transport and logistics problems. Secondly, a Monegasque company is currently not allowed to sell directly on Amazon. As a result, there were no Blitz sales for almost three months. However, I believe the situation with Amazon is evolving favourably, according to my information. How does volume two differ from the first edition?
The main aim of the first volume was to set up the characters and the story.
In this second volume, we enter deeper into the chess games. I wanted to make them punchier and more fun, so I asked artist Daitaro Nishihara to imagine the characters on a battlefield during the most striking games.
The characters imagine themselves as real chess warriors and it brings a lot of fun and intensity to the games.
It is important to mention that Blitz can be read by everyone. It is not necessary to know anything about chess, so we’ve added in the bonus section some explanations about chess games and a glossary. The first book was revolutionary because you collaborated with Japanese artists, and this one has gone one step further, with collaborations between Monaco, Japan, France and the United States. Do you feel you are breaking ground in the world of manga?
As a matter of fact, yes. We are innovative in the sense that even if Blitz follows the manga’s codes, the way it is made differs a lot from the usual standards.
And we must be very careful to avoid mistakes in our exchanges between French, Japanese and English.
I am convinced that Blitz can bring a breath of fresh air into the world of manga, not only through the subject matter, which is truly original, but also through the unique multi-cultural vision it brings.
The fact that Garry Kasparov is involved also gives it a lot of credibility, and not forgetting the contribution of Alexis Champion who, at the end of each volume, gives the keys to develop personal intuition. I don’t think I can say it enough, but Blitz is also a manga about intuition.
I enjoy proposing several levels of reading whether it is for children, teens or adults.
By the way, when I participate in autograph sessions, I can see that the profile of readers is incredibly varied, and it makes me very proud. Do you touch on any social issues in the book?
It’s a big word to say that we are actually addressing social problems, but our characters are not flat.
The hero, for example, does not ‘fit the mold’. In Japan, where there are strict codes of conduct, we can see that he is not particularly appreciated by the teachers and some classmates at the beginning.
The same goes for the main female character – she is tough and not a girl who stands by the hero or is a ‘trophy’.
It is important that everyone can identify with the characters they want and show that whether you are a girl or a boy, you can be a badass.
Also, while it is too early to talk about it specifically, there will be a disabled character who also appears in the story. We are all anxiously awaiting Astroboy Reboot. Do you have any idea of when it will be released?
I get so many messages from fans about this project. Obviously, I understand their frustration since we can not communicate on it due to various NDA’s signed with a major US company.
But I can say that the situation is evolving and I hope to be able to make some announcements by the end of the year.
The most important thing to remember is that we have been working on it since day one, even though it is very long and external factors sometimes simply prevent us from communicating fully with the fans in a way that keeps them informed in a concrete way. Astroboy is an iconic manga and I absolutely respect its author Osamu Tezuka. It is unthinkable for me not to provide the best for Astroboy Reboot. My mission remains the same – to deliver a beautiful series and broadcast it as widely as possible around the world. Can you reveal what is next in the Blitz series? Do you envisage it being a large series?
I do not want to reveal too much of course. But I can say that qualifying for the tournament will continue and although the main plot is in Japan, the Principality of Monaco will continue to be shown.
The Monte-Carlo Casino has been drawn for the first time in volume two, thanks to our partnership with the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM). It will also be featured on the back cover of volume three.
It is very important for me to have part of the story here in Monaco. I think it is great to see the Principality of Monaco in a manga and I think it brings additional value to Blitz.
I am also happy that the Monegasque authorities appreciate it and find it fun to see Monaco in a totally different universe than usual.
Shibuya Productions is a Monegasque company and we are totally committed to the “Monaco team”. The more we talk about the Principality of Monaco in general, the more beneficial I think it is for local companies and institutions.
Ideally, I would like Blitz to reach a little more than 20 volumes, which is what I think is needed to tell the story properly. Do you plan to release this manga in other countries?
Yes, I think it is of major importance for Blitz IP.
We have already had an online publication on Shonen Jump Plus in Japan. We are also targeting China, USA and all countries that have a developed manga market in general.
We are currently looking for publishing partners abroad to allow us to make Blitz known to as many people as possible. I receive a lot of messages from manga fans or chess enthusiasts overseas who are waiting for a translation in their country. We are working on it! Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Well, I want to say thank you for taking the time to read this article!
I hope all Monaco Life readers will be able to read Blitz and enjoy it. See you on 26th February for volume 3!
For the first time in its 21-year-history, No Finish Line will be held virtually this year. Here is everything you need to know about how to participate and rack up those kilometres for charity.
No Finish Line returns to the Principality for its 21st edition starting Saturday 14th November at 3pm for eight non-stop days until Sunday 22nd November at 3pm. The race has become a much-anticipated event for businesses and individuals in the community who don their sport shoes to walk or run for a good cause. This year’s ambitious goal is to collectively cover 400,000 kilometres.
As Covid casts its long shadow, the organisers of the event have met the challenge by creating a way for participants to race without breaking health and safety rules. Rather than following a set course, contestants can choose their own paths and commit to covering as many kilometres as many times as they wish, using the Zapsports app to track their progress.
The same rules apply with regards to donations. For each kilometre run, Children and Future donates one euro to support projects for disadvantaged and sick children.
All racers need to do is download the app and select the No Finish Line race. When they are ready to go, they start the stopwatch and the distances are clocked by the app, where they will be continuously updated. The updates can be tracked on the Children and Future website (childrenandfuture.com) any time and the final scores will also be available there, as well as on social media. An awards ceremony will be held in the first quarter of 2021.
AS Monaco Basketball star Will Yeguete has signed on as a sponsor for the race, adding some star power to the event. Additionally, No Finish Line’s organisers will be holding a toy drive from Saturday 14th November to Saturday, 21st November at the Fontvieille Big Top to collect as-new condition toys for the region’s children affected by Storm Alex. They have also decided to dedicate a portion of the funds raised for projects to help the kids in the valleys most affected.
Inscriptions for teams can be made on the Children and Future website up until 11th November at 6pm and for individuals until 22nd November at 12pm. The cost per participant is €12.
The new Monaco International Performing Arts Centre (MIPAC) is inviting interested people to check out their upcoming workshops and master classes.
MIPAC is expanding its calendar of events following its 16th September launch at Stars ‘n Bars, and is hosting two ‘open days’ on 30th and 31st October from 2pm to 8pm at the Entrepôt Gallery on Rue Millo in Monaco.
The open days are being set aside for those who are looking for ways to improve and showcase their talents, while visitors will have the chance to meet with coaches and professionals in the world of music, theatre and film. They will also have an opportunity to find out more information on MIPAC’s various upcoming activities.
Some of the fun events being held include auditions and open casting calls for The Golden Voice of Monaco. Simultaneously, they will be holding singing master classes, workshops, creating a choir, and organising concerts and singing springboards – all culminating in their Golden Voices Monegasque final.
For those more inclined towards the stage and screen, there will be meetings with the Monaco Cinema Academy, with film and production seminars held by the Academy’s own director, screenwriter, theatre pro and stage and voice coach.
MIPAC’s selection process has already produced a winner: 12-year-old Monegasque Sami Amato, who was chosen for The Golden Voices of Monaco and has gone on to win Junior Prize at the international final of The Golden Voices Music Awards 2020 in Cannes.
The open days will be in compliance with all health requirements to ensure the safety of those who would like to take part and doors are open to all ages, nationalities and talent levels.
Moi(s) sans Tabac, the government campaign to help people stop smoking, is back for its fifth year and aims to make quitters out of smokers this November.
Once again, Monaco is joining the French government for Moi(s) sans Tabac, a “collective challenge” to encourage and support all smokers in the process of quitting smoking.
Starting on 1st November and running for one month, smokers are asked to stop lighting up with the aide and support of non-smoking loved ones, others in the programme and health professionals.
This year’s extraordinary circumstances means the process will be slightly different, and therefore remote awareness actions will be in effect in accordance with Covid restrictions, but with no less help than in previous years.
The 40-day programme is free of charge and can be sent to smokers by e-mail or post, offering daily step-by-step procedures on how to succeed. In the kit are daily motivators and tips to make the journey as easy as possible. To date, there are more than 88,000 people participating in the event.
It is recommended that those going on the programme contact their doctor or a tobacco specialist in advance to create a personalised quitting strategy that will be suited best to each individual. Additionally, the Princess Grace Hospital will be offering free tobacco consultations by calling +377 97 98 97 41.
Nearly 54% of the French population are smokers and deaths related to smoking equal more than 73,500 people in France each year. Smoking is not only harmful to health but also to the environment. It is estimated that 27,139 tonnes of cigarette butts and empty packets wind up as toxic trash in France every year.
For more information on the programme and to download the free app, go to https://www.tabac-info-service.fr/je-me-fais-accompagner/je-telecharge-l-appli or dial 3989 to speak to a tobacco specialist and get started.
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