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Day: 7 April 2021

Government boosts holiday care capacity

by: Cassandra Tanti
07/04/2021

Parents in Monaco who are disadvantaged by the new spring break schedule are being offered a variety of holiday programmes to ensure the young ones are taken care of throughout the two weeks.
The Prince’s Government has faced mounting anger over its decision to bring forward the school break to 12th April by both the parents’ association and the National Council.
On Tuesday, Minister of State Pierre Dartout, Minister of the Interior Patrice Cellario, and the Commissioner General in charge of the Directorate of National Education, Youth and Sports Isabelle Bonnal met with parents’ representatives to explain their position.
The government also confirmed that all holiday programmes and activities would be brought forward to match the new dates, including those at the Prince Albert II Leisure Center. In addition, its capacity will be increased to accommodate the children of parents who did not initially register for the holiday programme.
As previously indicated, the Leisure Center in La Turbie will not open because of French restrictions, however its activities will be transferred to the Ecole des Révoires and the Ecole du Parc as well as in the Princess Antoinette Park. Children aged from three to 12 will be welcomed there from 8am to 6pm.
For older children, from 11 years, the Pass’Sport Culture system will be operational, offering all the activities initially planned during the spring holidays, excluding tennis. This will be available free of charge during the holiday period.
Finally, the Parkours internship programme will be offered to students wishing to use the vacation time to catch up on their studies. The State will cover half the cost of this programme for participants.
The goal, says the government, is to give as many working parents as possible an opportunity to have their children looked after in a supervised environment offering quality activities.
Meanwhile, the government is looking at possibly introducing a short vacation period at the end of May, as proposed by the parents’ association.
“It would provide extra time for parents and students to get together with family, and provide a beneficial break in a third term extended due to the advancement of the spring break,” it said in a statement.
Employers in the Principality have already been instructed to be flexible with employees who need to reorganise their spring holidays in light of the modified school calendar.
 
Photo by Mike Fox on Unsplash
 

Humanitarian Collective saves a dozen young lives

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/04/2021

A Monaco charity was able to provide for the life-saving surgery of 12 children in 2020, a third of the operations performed in 2020 but an incredible feat in a year impacted by Covid.

Members of the Monaco Humanitarian Collective met virtually on Tuesday 30th March to take a look at the past year’s work. Despite the pandemic, international border closures and health restrictions, 12 children were able to benefit from surgeries in Monaco and the Collective’s partner countries of France, Mali and Madagascar.

Since its creation in 2008, the total number of children, primarily from Africa, who have received vital medical care such as cardiac surgeries and orthopaedic pathologies, is 440.

This year’s number is one-third of the previous year, which stood at 36, but given the challenging times, it was a master feat. The operations made in 2020 include eight performed at the Monaco Cardio-Thoracic Centre and one at Lenval. The Collective has been able to expand their reach in new partnerships. Last year there was a new partnership formed in Mali and the latest, in Madagascar

The Chaîne de l’Espoir at the Cenhosoa Hospital in Antananarivo is based on the same operating model that was implemented in Mali. The hospital already had an established relationship with Monaco, namely through construction projects, purchasing of medical and operating equipment as well as medical training of staff.

Finally, it was announced that Dr François Bourlon, an emblematic figure of the MCH who has investigated all the medical files and followed all the children taken care of by the Collective since its creation in 2008, took his retirement.

The Monaco Humanitarian Collective is a group of 16 Monegasque and three French NGOs, as well as four partner healthcare centres in Monaco: Monaco Cardiothoracic Centre, Princess Grace Hospital Centre, Monegasque Institute of Sports Medicine and Surgery (IM2S), Lenval Hospital in Nice and the two others abroad.

 
Photo by Michael Alesi / Government Communication Department
 
 

Rosberg X Racing makes history as first Extreme E winner 

by: Cassandra Tanti
07/04/2021

Nico Rosberg’s team has won the first ever Extreme E electric off-road racing series in Saudi Arabia, with Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor at the wheel.
Rosberg X Racing (RXR) took out the win in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, ahead of Andretti United with drivers Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings, and Lewis Hamilton’s team X44 with Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez behind the wheel.
“What an amazing start to the season. It feels a bit surreal, with so much anticipation and preparation leading into the weekend and we all came here not really knowing what to expect,” said Taylor after the win. “It was definitely extreme. It was the first time we had experienced terrain like that, and on every lap, the course was changing – there were so many different variables to deal with. We just wanted to make the most of the little time we had in the car – every single kilometre.”
Dubbed ‘Star Wars pod racing meets Dakar Rally’, the five-round championship is racing in five locations impacted by climate change during its 2021 inaugural season.
“It’s pretty cool to be part of this journey at the start of something that I think has an amazing future,” added the record-breaking Australian Rally Championship winner. “This series is really throwing the traditional rulebook out of the window and starting afresh, and I think everyone will agree it was spectacular to watch.”


The pioneering electric off-road series sees teams of legendary male and female drivers pair up to compete in two-lap races across the rugged terrain.
The dramatic desert dust-up in Saudi was divided into a qualifying day that set the order of race day, then on Sunday the drivers went wheel to wheel in an action-packed race that has drawn plenty of praise from racing fans the world over.
“If I had written a script for the perfect weekend, I could not have come up with anything better than what we have witnessed these past two days — I’ve never seen such extreme racing in my life,” said Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO of Extreme E. “This first race weekend will have a huge influence on how Extreme E evolves, and one of the reasons I feel so proud is that we have built this platform where female drivers can shine like they deserve. What we have seen from them here is extraordinary — some incredible talent and courage — and overall, I think it’s fair to say we have really made our mark. I’m over the moon.”

Molly Taylor (AUS), Johan Kristoffersson (SWE), and Nico Rosberg celebrate the win

RXR’s Kristoffersson and Taylor stormed to victory despite a 60-second penalty and less than favourable grid slots in both the semi-final and final. It was an incredible display of skill and car control on a surface with natural obstacles that included sand pits, sand dunes, grass, bushes, and blind crests, making overtaking a much more difficult tactic to manoeuvre.
“This is insane. I’m so thankful to the whole team for the effort put in this weekend, which has been intense and really on-the-edge,” said Nico Rosberg, Rosberg X Racing founder and CEO. “Molly and Johan produced some phenomenal driving. Neither of them put a foot wrong in really tough conditions, and they both showed unbelievable speed out there — their performance was really inspiring and I felt really proud watching them.”
Extreme E selected AlUla to highlight the importance of deserts as biologically important ecosystems while the misuse of natural resources is the main cause of desertification and loss of biological diversity.
Up next in the schedule is the Ocean XPrix at Lac Rose in Dakar, Senegal on 29th and 30th May. That is followed by the Arctic XPrix in Greenland, the Amazon XPrix in Brazil, and the Glacier EPrix in Argentina.
 
Photos source: Extreme E
 
 

Roca team dominate Gran Canaria

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/04/2021

AS Monaco Basketball took the win against Herbalife Gran Canaria in the first of two Euro Cup 7 semi-final matches against the team this week.
The Roca Team beat Gran Canaria on Tuesday night in a Euro Cup 7 semi-finals win at home by a score of 82 to 77. Not exactly a blowout, but a solid win and enough to take them back to La Palma on Friday night with confidence.
The first half of the game saw a seriously strong showing by Monaco who had 24 points to the Spanish team’s five in the second quarter. When they two went into the locker room at the half, the score was a comfortable 44 to 26.
After the break, Gran Canaria came out swinging whilst the Roca boys seemed to struggle to find their stride. The opponents quickly closed the gap, racketing up the excitement. They never took the lead, but they sure came within spitting distance, forcing Monaco to step up their game. In the end, the Roca team came out on top winning 82 to 77.
“1-0. I am satisfied. It was a tough game, as I expected,” said Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic after the game. ‘We had a great second quarter time. They had a great 3rd quarter time. Afterwards, the game balanced out. In the end we managed to control.”
AS Monaco made 26 shots out of 60, with nine out of 17 from three point range. They had 41 rebounds, with Mathias Lessort taking eight on his own. There were seven steals, 14 stray balls and 13 assists. Rob Gray had an outstanding night, scoring 25 points. Lessort chalked up 12 and Captain dee Bost had 11.
The team head to Las Palmas on Friday for the rematch.
 
Photo by Manuel Vitali / Government Communication Department
 
 

Red and Whites off to quarterfinals

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/04/2021

AS Monaco is going to the Coupe de France quarterfinals after securing their spot by edging Metz out on penalty shots on Tuesday night.
The Red and Whites went up against Metz for the second time in a week but this time the results weren’t quite so clear cut. Compared with Saturday’s massive four to nil victory, this match was won on a single penalty shot.
Prince Albert II and Dmitri Rybolovlev watched from the loges as the Monegasques ended the night in the best way possible.
The first half of the game was rather a quiet affair with neither side having many attempts. Gelson Martins and Youssouf Fofana both made gallant efforts against Metz’s goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja, but they came to nothing.
On the Metz side, Aaron Leya Iseka tried it on with Monaco goalie Radoslaw Majecki, who handily blocked the attempt just before the half.
After returning from the locker room, both sides were playing aggressive defence, neither letting the other have the advantage. Much like the first half, the game was scoreless, forcing the match into penalty shots. Monaco made all five attempts, edging out their opponent by one and launching them into the quarters finals.
“The Coupe de France is different from the championship, it’s another competition,” said Coach Niko Kovac. “We had to qualify one way or another, so tonight it was after the penalty shootout that we got the victory. We put them all to the bottom. But in view of the match, I think it’s a deserved success because we had a lot of chances, especially in the face-to-face with Gelson Martins. We therefore deserve this qualification.”
The Red and Whites return on Sunday for Ligue 1 action when they face off against Dijon at home in Stade Louis II.
 
Monaco Life with AS Monaco press release, photo by AS Monaco