All travellers entering France from Europe by air or sea will have to present a negative PCR test from Sunday 24th January.
The Elysée Palace reported on Thursday that President Emmanuel Macron announced the new rule during a summit with European Council member states. At this same meeting, Council President Ursula von der Leyen said that Europe was in the throes of a “very serious health situation”.
On Friday morning the government clarified that this measure would apply only to arrivals by air and sea, and that people arriving by road or rail would not need a test because of the impracticalities of enforcing it.
The government specified that it must be a PCR test performed in the previous 72 hours. The rapid-result antigen tests on offer at many pharmacies will not be accepted.
The French government had already made it mandatory for travellers from outside the EU to present a negative PCR test from 14th January.
The new regulation will apply to all except to essential travellers. The Elysée also specified that “frontier workers and land transporters will in particular be exempt”.
Cross-border workers and hauliers are also exempt from the requirement.
France is not alone in its decision. Many other countries in Europe are making negative Covid tests on arrival the norm, such as the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.
In Stockholm, the European Centre for Disease Prevention, the agency responsible for epidemics, said that Europeans should “prepare for a rapid escalation in the stringency of measures (to counter the virus) in the coming weeks to preserve healthcare capacities and to accelerate vaccination campaigns.”
It’s been one year since we caught up with Georges Gambarini to talk about Monaco’s roadmap to becoming a Smart City.
In this interview, the programme manager shares with us the impact that Covid had on Monaco’s digital strategy and whether it derailed any projects. We also look at what 2021 holds for the ambitious Smart City plan. Monaco Life: When we first spoke in January 2020, you outlined some bold plans that the government had for the year ahead in Monaco. Then Covid hit. So how successful were those plans?
Georges Gambarini: Thanks to the government’s consistency, we achieved almost 80% of our objectives last year. In fact, our roadmap grew out of the situation we were in.
Some projects were postponed because of confinement, such as experiments in the city, but we’ve picked them up again and they are still ongoing. Let’s start with transport. What advances have been made in this area?
We are still experimenting with light synchronisation for No. 5 buses on Boulevard Princesse Charlotte. The ‘smart’ lights detect an approaching bus and give a green signal, allowing the bus to pass through and complete its route faster, improving the quality of service. Our aim is to create a modern public transport system and encourage as many people as possible to take the bus. We think they would do that if the service was faster than it is today.
But it is a complicated experiment, because if you give a green light to the bus, you have to give a red light to everybody else, so it has a ‘butterfly effect’ and we must analyse that. Our aim is to deploy the system in 2021/2022 and perhaps go wider and apply it to all the buses, police cars, taxis, etc.
One of the most ambitious projects of the year was the launch of carpooling in Monaco. We work with Klaxit, one of the best providers in France, and focus on home-to-business and business-to-home. In order for this to work, we needed a community of a minimum size, so we went to the 24biggest companies in Monaco and said: “We will cover the deployment costs, we just need you to help us bring your employees on board”. Everyone was very motivated and we launched the programme in September. How does it work?
You either nominate yourself as a driver or a passenger, and identify what days and times you are available or need to travel.
The first 30 kilometres are paid for by the government – that’s equal to travelling from Nice West to Monaco, for example – and for the passenger it is free.
It’s been a great success despite the complicated period in which we chose to launch the initiative. Again, the consistency of the government was important because it would have been easy to say it is too complicated and we should wait until 2021 for the rollout. But we achieved 900 journeys in December and, when compared with other cities using Klaxit, we are in the top tier.
There are 50,000 cars entering Monaco each day and we hope this initiative will help reduce both carbon and traffic. This year we are aiming to get more employees onboard. City monitoring is also a major focus of any Smart City programme. How did that go in 2020?
We deployed 20 censors in the city last year and have been testing them for six months now. We are able to count air quality, buses, pedestrians, cars; we are able to identify what type of vehicles are entering Monaco, and which car parking spaces have become available.
In the future, we will be able to see, for example, if someone parks in a disabled car space and doesn’t put the authorisation card in the window.
The cameras are not manned. The technology works through digital analysis – one picture is analysed every second.
Some projects have been postponed, but not for long. Those that would normally be finished in November/December will come to an end in February/March. What digital initiative you are particularly proud of?
We launched the Your Monaco website and app in July to provide useful information about the city. There is everything on there from maps to find car parks and air quality levels, to travel times for motorists and easy-to-read editorials.
The objective was to create a collaborative website for the government to provide citizens with a very simple way of explaining what is happening in their city on a daily basis.
This year, we want to expand it to include more real time information – whether the lift I take every morning is working today, for example.
All of this information is available to us and we want to find the best way to inform people through only one hub of information.
Your Monaco is also linked to Twitter and is automatically updated with traffic information, including road accidents and closures. If you create an account on Your Monaco, you are also able to receive SMS traffic alerts, specific to your travel times. This is all available in French, English and Italian. What changes can we expect with Your Monaco in 2021?
We want to relay more real time information through Your Monaco. We want to develop the SMS alert system for people to personalise the information they receive, whether it is traffic, culture, events, new initiatives, new online services etc.
And we want to streamline all the information portals so Your Monaco becomes the only hub of information for everyone. You were also set to launch the Urban Report when we last spoke. How did this rollout go?
The sole purpose of the Urban Report, which is a downloadable app, is to listen to the people in the city. We wanted to create a simple way for people to communicate their concerns with the right government official with regards to construction noise, transport, or garbage, for example. We need people to help us better manage the city. The objective is to listen, answer and react. Noise generated from construction sites is a regular problem in Monaco. Photo by Monaco Life How does it work exactly?
If you are reporting a noise problem related to building works, for example, your complaint will be directed to the correct person in the government who will be able to respond. If we have a number of noise complaints in that area, we can send people out to test, monitor and locate the problem. Then we can try to resolve the issue.
We always say Monaco is like one big family, and the aim of this application is to ease people’s frustration by being able to communicate with the government, with one click, one message, or one photo. Feedback is very important. How is Smart City integrated into the National Pact for the Energy Transition?
We are about to launch a communication campaign about the Carbon Coach, which allows people to sign the National Pact online, provides tools for people to measure their carbon impact, and tips on how to reduce their carbon footprint. We call it Carbon Coach because the government will give advice on good practices and some challenges to help people reduce their carbon impact. What can residents look forward to in terms of tech in 2021?
We will launch a new app called ‘Monapass’ by the end of the first quarter. Monapass will be an all-in-one and free ticketing application that allows residents and visitors to access different services via a single solution. In other words, in Monapass, users will able to buy their tickets and subscriptions in just few clicks, and use these tickets in place of multiple apps, cards, tickets, etc. They will also be able to receive information that is relevant to their interests and real time data.
We will start with three mobility services: CAM Buses, Monabike and street parking. Then, we will gradually add more services requiring tickets such as theatres, swimming pools and the stadium.
A new website called Monaco Santé has been created in the Principality, providing information and services for residents and visitors including online bookings and consultations.
The government created the Monaco Santé initiative in conjunction with public and private health partners to provide a simple and easy website that is in line with Monaco’s digital transition mission.
“Monaco Santé supports patients on their pathway of Monegasque care to become even more involved in their health. At the same time, it offers professionals tools to support their activity,” said Minister of Social Affairs and Health Didier Gamerdinger.
The Monaco Santé digital portal, www.monacosante.mc, has been designed as a user-friendly site featuring reliable information by the government’s health department. It is a “pragmatic response to the expectations of patients who are also Internet users and wish to benefit from the facilities offered by new technologies,” said Mr Gamerdinger.
Monaco Santé provides health information including the latest news, a directory, online appointment booking, online consultation, personal medical history and emergency numbers.
The website is available in five languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish and Russian.
The Monaco Department of International Cooperation has just completed its seventh year of Winter School in conjunction with the Sciences Po Menton campus, only this year, all classes were held virtually for the first time ever.
The Middle East Mediterranean Campus of Sciences Po Paris in Menton was organised with the help of the Monaco Department of International Cooperation (DCI). The programme is made for first-year students to raise awareness of the possible vocations available to them after graduation, as well as to teach them about various rights in the AMNO zone, which covers the Middle East and North Africa.
Since 2015, DCI has worked together with its partners, all experts in their fields, to speak with students enrolled at Sciences Po Menton. This year, there were 131 pupils from 28 different countries. But instead of being together in a classroom, the teacher-experts and students were all, for the first time ever, remotely learning.
The unusual circumstances brought about by the global pandemic meant that students were introduced to International Humanitarian Law by Frédéric Joli, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the Law of Persons with Disabilities by Dr Jean-Baptiste Richardier, founder of Handicap International, and the Right to Food by Geneviève Wills and Patricia Colbert, from the World Food Program and recent Nobel Peace Prize recipients. These more restrictive conditions were a reminder to students that life for some is always more closed and that the freedoms enjoyed in the West are not the same for all.
In his opening speech, Laurent Anselmi, Minister of External Relations and Cooperation, said: “Here you are – here we all are – immersed in a reality that is more constraining, less free, less mobile, less abundant. In a way, it is likely that this situation will make you more attuned to the harsh humanitarian and social realities that you will be addressing.”
The week was wrapped up with a “solidarity creative challenge” where students were grouped into teams and asked to promote five different rights discussed, with the use of visual aids. A prize was awarded to the team with the best presentation.
The Winter School represents a unique opportunity to create vocations among these future leaders, and to promote the united image of Monaco.
Villa Unda Maris, an enormous property under construction on the Rock, has gone under the gavel and achieved an eye-watering sale price of €75,300,000.
The auction of an exceptional property in Monaco is not an everyday occurrence and is even more rare when the estate boasts a total area of 2.246m2.
This was the case with Villa Unda Maris, formerly known as Villa Saint-Martin, which went to auction on Friday 15th January at the Courthouse in Monaco.
According to a report by Monaco Matin, interest was high, with over 20 potential buyers in the courtroom trying their luck at gaining this exceptional piece of real estate.
As revealed in the auction’s legal announcement, there was a €15 million deposit required just to participate in the auction, originally scheduled for November 2020.
Located at 11 Avenue Saint Martin and neighbouring National Council headquarters, the main building was built over seven floors, including two subterranean levels. There is also a four-story outbuilding with a large garden. Princess Stephanie of Monaco and Caroline, Princess of Hanover are both residents of Avenue Saint Martin.
The starting price was €60 million. Two and a half hours after the start of the auction, a purchaser reportedly walked away with the property for €77,300,000, a bargain compared to the estimate made by a valuation expert who claimed its worth to be €165 million, or €75,000 per square metre, after construction works are complete.
The buyer was a Monaco-based company, but the person behind the company is said to be a Greek billionaire who lives in the Principality.
The property is not without issues, though. The current owner saddles the new one with a mortgage for an unpaid credit on the purchase and reconstruction works of Unda Maris, and there is always a chance another buyer may appear and offer to pay more before the ink has dried on the sale.
The liquidation of the villa was requested by Société Générale Luxembourg under the representation of Thomas Giaccardi. The debtor was assisted by Hervé Campana.
Written by Stephanie Horsman and Cassandra Tanti. Photo: Reconstruction drawing of Villa Unda Maris
People travelling to Switzerland from Monaco and the French Riviera will have to self-quarantine for 10 days, under new restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Swiss authorities updated the list of high-risk areas on 20th January, with the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and Monaco among 15 new additions. The quarantine comes into effect from 1st February.
It means that people who have spent time in these areas and then enter Switzerland must go into quarantine for 10 days. A negative Covid-test result is not enough to escape the mandatory quarantine or shorten the isolation period in the Alpine country.
Certain categories of people are exempt, including business travellers who are visiting for an important reason that cannot be postponed, individuals travelling for an important medical reason that cannot be postponed, and transit passengers who have spent less than 24 hours in a country or area with an increased risk of infection.
Other new regions to make Switzerland’s red list are Cyprus, Spain and Malta, where incidence rates are rising.
Upon arrival in Switzerland, travellers must self-isolated in their place of accommodation and contact authorities within two days. Failure to do either of these is punishable by a fine of up to CHF 10,000.
Switzerland is the only country in Europe to allow skiing amid the pandemic, and many resorts were overrun on the weekend due to favourable snow conditions.
Numbers were so large in Flumserberg, for instance, the fire brigade and police were called in to control the crowds.
According to local media, rules regulating queuing have been broken in several ski resorts.
Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have started mass testing residents and visitors in the luxury ski resort of St Moritz after a new variant of the coronavirus was detected and two high-end hotels were put under quarantine on Monday.
Photo source: Pixabay
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