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Day: 26 May 2021

UPDATED: France toughens restrictions on UK travellers

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/05/2021

France has added the UK to the list of countries from which travellers are obliged to quarantine for 10 days due to concerns over the rising circulation of the Indian variant of Covid-19.
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal made the announcement on Wednesday after a meeting with the Defence Council, saying that France would introduce “compulsory isolation” for all arrivals from the UK.

The isolation will need to last seven days, Clement Beaune, France’s junior minister for European Affairs, later said on Twitter, adding that visitors would also need to present a Covid-19 test carried out less than 48 hours before departure.

The measures are expected to come into force on Monday 31st May.

The UK brings to 16 the countries that are currently subject to mandatory quarantine, including Brazil, India, Argentina and Turkey.
 
 
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
 
 
 

Monaco mourns with Italy

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/05/2021

Prince Albert has sent a letter of condolence to the Italian president following the crash of a cable car in northern Italy that killed 14 people. Meanwhile, investigators say the system’s emergency brakes had been deactivated to overcome a fault.
The cable car in the Piedmont region had been carrying 15 people on the 20-minute ride between the resort town of Stresa and Mount Mottarone. It was a few metres from its destination when it plummeted 20 metres into the woods below, shortly after midday on Sunday.
A five-year-old boy who is in intensive care at Regina Margherita hospital in Turin was the sole survivor of the tragedy, believed to have happened when a lead cable broke and the emergency brakes failed to activate, causing the cabin to hurtle backwards before falling.
The child’s parents, who are Israeli nationals resident in Italy, his younger sibling and his great-grandparents were all killed. The other victims, including a six-year-old boy, were Italian and one man who was born in Iran and lived in Rome.
In a letter addressed to President Sergio Mattarella, Prince Albert wrote:
“Mr. President, The Princess and I learned with great sorrow of the dramatic fall of a cable car in Stresa-Mottarone. With the people of the Principality, we would like to express to you our very deep sadness following this tragedy which has left families in mourning and plunged your country into sorrow. Our thoughts are also with the seriously injured child for whom we extend deep sympathies. Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of our unity of thought and of my highest consideration.”
On Wednesday, investigators revealed that three people had been detained, including the owner of the firm that manages the aerial tramway, for allegedly making a “conscious gesture” by “tampering” with the emergency brakes in order to avoid disruptions to the cable car service.
The service had resumed on 25th April when Italy lifted some lockdown restrictions. While technical checks had been undertaken over the past seven months to “remedy inefficiencies”, they had not been “decisive” in resolving issues, investigators said.
Had the emergency brakes activated, they would have held the cabin steady after the cable snapped. The move was made “in the belief that a cable breakage could never have happened”.
Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into suspected involuntary manslaughter and negligence.
 
 
Photo source: AP
 
 

SBM Artistic Director Jean-René Palacio dies at 67

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/05/2021

Homages are pouring in after the announcement of the death of Société des Bains de Mer Artistic Director Jean-René Palacio at the Princess Grace Hospital on Tuesday.

Naturalised Monegasque Jean-René Palacio was the creator of the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival, as well as Artistic Director for both the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) Summer Festival at Le Sporting and the Jazz à Juan Festival in Juan-les-Pins.

He was a true music lover and was the orchestrator of countless major concerts and events over the decades and has brought the biggest stars in music to the area, including legendary soul artist James Brown, disco diva Diana Ross, French chanteuse Vanessa Paradis and beloved singer-songwriter Pascal Obispo.

Known for exacting standards despite having a rock n’ roll attitude, he created top-quality, professionally arranged shows that drew huge audiences year after year.

Palacio launched the Sporting Monte-Carlo Summer Festival in 2001, created the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival just four years later in 2005, and became artistic director at Jazz à Juan 11 years ago. This would be a full plate for any mere mortal, but friends describe him as more.

“With Jean-René Palacio we are losing a great man of music and the arts, a talent, a friend,” said Jean-Luc Biamonti, Deputy Chairman of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer. “The artistic legacy he leaves to our Group and to Monaco is immense, we thank him for it and send our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.”

General Manager of the Tourist and Convention Office in Antibes Juan-les-Pins and director of the Juan-Les-Pins Jazz Festival Philippe Baute told France Bleu Azur that Palacio “brought an extra soul and love for artists, and I am losing a very dear friend.”

Antibes Mayor Jean Léonetti added to this saying, “This is someone who has taken on his passions, and who has gone to the end of his life with his passions. With excellence and kindness, he has greatly contributed to the cultural influence of the Côte d’Azur, in particular Antibes and Monaco.”

Named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011, and Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Culturel Monegasque in 2014, Jean-René Palacio worked for 22 years for the SBM Group and the Principality.

Palacio and his wife were granted citizenship in Monaco by Prince Albert II in 2020.

 
 
Photo source: SBM
 
 
 
 

New QR tracing system to be launched in France

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/05/2021

Starting 9th June, establishments such as bars, cafés, restaurants and gyms, will have QR scanners to alert customers of Covid risks as well as track those who may be contaminated.

The track and trace QR code is called Signal and will form part of the French mobile app Tous Anti Covid.

Just as gyms, bars, restaurants and cafés will all be welcoming clients back indoors, the app will ask people entering these establishments to “sign in” using a QR code, allowing the government to alert those who had been on the premises if an outbreak of Covid has occurred.

The government assured that this system will not be used to track users, allowing for anonymous use. It is also not attached to a location, but to the group at the same location at the same time. All data is deleted after a fortnight.

The QR code is not the same as the new health pass, which allows access to large gatherings such as indoor concerts, theatres or sporting events with more than 1,000 people by offering proof of recent vaccination, negative PCR test or are otherwise immune.

Called a “digital reminder book”, the QR code is by far the easier way to go, though paper versions will be available at establishments, and will be obligatory from 9th June until the government says it is no longer required.

It is a bit of a chequerboard who is required to provide the QR. Outdoor terraces and cinemas for example will not require patrons to sign in. The government has said they are targeting enclosed establishments with poor ventilation and mask-wearing is not continuous.

Business owners can access the professional site at https://qrcode.tousanticovid.gouv.fr to generate the code and then they must have it on display for customer use. Customers will then simply use their QR code scanner to sign in.

If someone at a facility has tested positive, each individual who had been at the site within two hours of the infected person will receive an “orange alert” asking them to “get tested immediately, limit contact and watch for symptoms.”  

If three people from the same place test positive, another alert, a “red alert”, will be sent out recommending people to “isolate and get tested immediately.”

Questions are also arising about the efficacy of such a system which requires one to sign in but does not enforce in any actionable way to follow through if an outbreak has occurred.

The National Commission of Information and Liberties (CNIL) in France has said the app “sufficiently demonstrated the usefulness, at the current stage, of the fight against the epidemic”, but recommended that its mandatory nature “be limited to only establishments open to the public presenting a high risk” of contamination.

 
 
 

Tickets go on sale for AMLA’s annual gala

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/05/2021

AMLA, the Monegasque Association for Latin America, will be holding its yearly gala in June at the Yacht Club of Monaco and will feature a short film premiere, a Latin American themed dinner, presentations, and loads of music and dancing.
The Association Monegasque for Latin America (AMLA) will hold their next Charity Gala event on Saturday 12th June at the Yacht Club of Monaco under the theme ‘Our story of consciousness, connection and balance’.
The elegant evening will begin at 8pm with the premiere of a short seven-minute film directed and produced by the organisation focusing on the interconnectedness of humanity and the earth to raise awareness.
This will be followed by a brief introduction of their charity partner the David de Rothschild FondaMental Fondation Suisse by Professor Jean-Michel Aubry in regards to their scientific research and treatment of mental pathologies such as anxiety and depression. Funds raised by the event will support their cause and allow AMLA to host a scientific exchange in Bolivia with professor Guillermo Rivera, PhD, director of the Mental Health Hospital Japonés and the Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz (UPSA).
The event will unfold gradually from educational into Latin American party and shows, following the expert talks in the fields of Mind, Body and Soul.
The night also includes a Shamanistic Choreography with Sabah Ramani, a short interactive presentation of Dame Marie Diamond who explores the concepts of energy transformation and the law of attraction, a presentation of the relationship between sound and brain by musician and president of the association One Song one Earth Olivier Covo, and lastly a chat on how virtual reality is applied to treating compulsive behaviour and the chance to try on the glasses at the gala by Katerina Schilter.
No Latin American event would be  complete without music and dance, and next up guests will be treated to a dance show featuring the four elements through “ancestral movements” and modern ballet, as well as music from Latin American Life accompanied by taxi dancers to really get the blood flowing.
The charity auction will incorporate “unique experiences and positive art”.
AMLA’s aim is to create a socio-cultural exchange between the Principality of Monaco and the countries of Latin America through cultural and social activities that contribute to the enrichment of the knowledge of the Latino roots in Monaco and collaborating at the same time with foundations and charitable associations in favour of Latin American countries.
For more information and tickets, visit the ALMA website at https://www.amlamonaco.com/
 

Roca team goes three for three

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/05/2021

AS Monaco Basketball finished up their whirlwind three game road trip with a tight-as-they-come 74 to 73 victory over JL Bourg at the Salle Ekinox in Bourg-en-Bresse Tuesday night.

It was right up to the wire in the face-off between AS Monaco and Bourg-en-Bresse, with a layup from Abdou Ndoye just 14 seconds from the end sealing the deal and giving Monaco three back-to-back wins on the road.

Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic was back in charge this match after being suspended from the last by the disciplinary committee after a kerfuffle in Le Mans that saw both coaches tossed out.

All four quarters saw the tug of war between the teams, with no one having a clear advantage, making for nail-biting excitement the whole way through.

The big scoring stars of the night were the newly recovered Mathias Lessort and Bourg’s Alen Omic, but it was a game where every player pulled their weight, and the competition was intense.

In the end, the last second basket by Ndoye saved the day for Monaco giving them the one-point edge and the win.

“Our first objective was to defend well against the second attack in the championship,” said Coach Zvezdan after the game. “We did a really good job in this area. It is really not easy to win in Bourg, we has always had difficult matches on this floor.”

ASM back Abdoulaye Ndoye praised the opponents and expressed delight at having even a small crowd of 800 fans in attendance.

“Bourg is a very good team which plays very well. There was a crowd, they were expecting us. By not giving up, we have shown that we are still hungry after the EuroCup title. The matches are linked, the coach spins, everyone brings their own stone to the edifice. This collective is what makes our strength.”

Monaco made 26 baskets out of 55 tries on the night, including six for 23 in three-point range. They had 33 rebounds and 15 assists, picked up 10 stray balls and stole the ball six times.

Lessort was high scorer for the team with 18 points and Rob Gray was next with 10.

The Roca team is finally heading home now, where they will take on the men from Le Mans on Thursday 27th May at 6pm in Salle Gaston Médecin.

 
 
 
Monaco Life with AS Monaco Basketball press release, photo by AS Monaco Basketball