9 ° C
Profile

Month: June 2021

How much would you pay for Doggy John Monaco?

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/06/2021

Princess Stephanie and son Louis Ducruet have gratefully accepted an enormous ‘Doggy John Monaco’ sculpture, which is expected to fetch an impressive sum when it goes up for action in benefit of the Fight AIDS Monaco charity.
When passing by the Casino terraces this summer, it will be impossible to miss the nearly two-and-half-metre high red and white French bulldog sculpture sitting in the middle of Monte-Carlo.
The work is part of the famous ‘Doggy John’ collection by Parisian artist Julien Marinetti and was made especially for Fight AIDS Monaco to be sold with the proceeds going to the charity. The estimated value of the piece is a half million euros.
“It’s a real breath of fresh air for Fight Aids Monaco,” said Louis Ducruet. “We still need donations, especially this year when fundraising could not take place due to Covid.”
Fight AIDS Monaco was created in 2004 by Princess Stephanie to help those living with HIV and AIDS, as well as to raise awareness about prevention and testing.

Photos by Frederic Nebinger, Prince’s Palace

The huge bulldog, painted in the colours of the Principality and autographed by Princess Stephanie, will be on display all summer, giving art lovers and potential buyers the chance to see it up close.
The artist comes from the Saint-Germain-des Près neighbourhood of Paris, which is an up-and-coming hub for art and handicrafts. He studied sculpture and drawing at the Academie de la Grande Chaumière and has built his career on the animal sculptures he is now famous for. His most popular is the bronze-made ‘Doggy John’, which he has recreated in multiple colours and styles.
Marinetti’s generosity comes from a personal place, as the artist has lost friends to the disease. “I was 10 or 11 years old when AIDS started and I have seen a lot of friends die from this horrible disease,” he said.
Now, some lucky recipient will be able to own a Doggy John and know that they will be contributing to an incredibly good cause.
 
 
Photos by Frederic Nebinger, Prince’s Palace
 
 
 

Roca team tumbles to third in Jeep Elite standings

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/06/2021

ASM Basketball took a beating on Sunday at home against Bourg-en-Bresse, not only suffering an 86-94 loss, but also falling from the top spot in the Jeep Elite standings. 

The Roca team went up against Bourg-en-Bresse at the Salle Gaston Médecin in front of 900 fans, but even the home court advantage couldn’t get them over the line this game.

“I don’t want to make excuses for us, it’s no use. Bourg found more energy,” said ASM centre Mathias Lessort after the match.

Though they did not come out victorious this game, they did fight the good fight and even came back after a 17-point deficit to come within eight points of Bourg.

At the halftime point, Monaco saw themselves in the unusual position of trailing 44 to 55, and things didn’t get much better for them after returning from the locker room. Bourg came out swinging further expanding their lead, which they didn’t relinquish right up until the very end.

“Bourg en Bresse deserved this victory,” ASM Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic said. “The announcement of the LNB (to organize a Final 4 on the 24th and 26th) cut the switch in my team which previously tried to hang on for first place. We’re going to play 16 matches in 38 days, I’ve never seen that in my coaching career.”

Monaco made 29 out of 61 shots, with 12 for 28 in three-point range. They took three rebounds, with Lessort scoring 12 on his own, collected 15 stray balls, made 19 assists and stole the ball seven times.

Co-top scorers were Captain Dee Bost and Marcos Knight, followed by Ibrahima Fall Faye and Brenden Frazier who both had 12 a piece.

As the end of the season nears, AS Monaco is down but nowhere near out as they look forward to quarterfinal rounds in a few weeks that promise to be hugely exciting.

Before then, they must try to regain their mojo and break the losing streak. They will have their chance when they meet Gravelines on Wednesday in yet another away game.

 
 
 

Leclerc finishes fourth after taking pole

by: Cassandra Tanti
06/06/2021

Monaco’s Charles Leclerc came fourth in a hugely dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix that saw Max Verstappen crash out from the lead with just five laps to go.
Leclerc set the fastest time on Saturday with the help of a slipstream from Hamilton and a red flag on the final run, securing the Ferrari driver his second successive pole.
But as Leclerc led away from pole on Sunday, he was passed for the lead by Lewis Hamilton, then Verstappen swept by the Ferrari man on Lap 7.
Verstappen took the lead after a crucial sequence of pit stops, and the Dutchman seemed to have victory in the bag, even mastering a Safety Car restart after Lance Stroll’s left-rear tyre gave way on the pit straight pitching him heavily into the wall.
Then Verstappen spun on Lap 47 and crashed after an apparent tyre issue of his own. Unhurt, but shaken, his crash triggered the Safety Car again, which turned into a red flag that suspended the race on Lap 48. The race resumed with a standing start 35 minutes later on Lap 50, giving two laps of flat-out action, the field all having switched tyres during the stoppage.
In the end Sergio Perez took out the win, Sebastian Vettel came in second and Pierre Gasly – having held off a charging Leclerc in the final laps – took the final podium place.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth, and Lewis Hamilton finished 15th after a shocking late-lock-up.
The World Championship will be back on track in a fortnight’s time with the French Grand Prix at the Le Castellet circuit.
 
 
 
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
 
 
 

No shuttle service this year

by: Cassandra Tanti
04/06/2021

The long-awaited Nice to Cap d’Ail boat shuttle service that is set to provide crucial transport for cross-border workers has been delayed, again.
The Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis announced in April that the long-awaited shuttle boat service would begin this August.
The move was welcomed by the National Council of Monaco and the government, who see the service as a vital relief to a saturated train network and heavily congested roads due to thousands of French inhabitants crossing the border to work in Monaco each day.
But the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis recently announced that the shuttle service will not go ahead as planned this year due to an unsuccessful tender process.
The plan was for the environmentally-friendly boats to run every half hour during peak hours, making 34 rotations each day between the Port of Nice and Cap d’Ail, about 15 kilometres apart.
Once in Cap d’Ail, passengers would be able to make the short trip to the Principality using the CAM bus service.
The shuttle service, estimated at around €5 million, will be co-financed by the Monaco government.
A new tender is expected to be approved in early 2022.
 
 
Photo by Paul Teysen on Unsplash 
 
 

France reveals details of its ‘Traffic light’ travel rule system

by: Cassandra Tanti
04/06/2021

The US and UK have been placed on France’s orange list, meaning only vaccinated travellers will be able to enter the country. The rest of Europe has been placed in the green zone, with only a negative test required by authorities.
The government revealed to French media RMC and BFMTV on Friday details of its ‘Traffic light’ based travel rule system, due to take effect from Wednesday 9th June.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State in charge of Tourism, confirmed that countries will be placed in three categories: green, orange and red.
All member states of the European Union as well as Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore have been placed in the ‘green zone’. Travellers from these countries will be able to enter France freely if they are vaccinated. For others, a negative PCR or antigen test of less than 72 hours will be requested.
People will be considered vaccinated two weeks after they receive both doses, or four weeks for those vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
The United States and the United Kingdom have been placed in the ‘orange zone’, “where the circulation of the virus still exists but is under control and where there is no variant of concern,” said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Travellers from these countries must not only be vaccinated but also present a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours or an antigen test of less than 48 hours. Non-vaccinated people will not be able to set foot on French soil unless they have a compelling reason.
Finally, the countries falling into the ‘red zone’ include South Africa, Brazil and India. Travellers from these countries will not be able to come to France without a compelling reason, whether they are vaccinated or not.
 
 
 
Photo by Yousef Alfuhigi on Unsplash
 
 
 
 

Unite Monaco to bridge gap to new UAE markets

by: Stephanie Horsman
04/06/2021

Unite Monaco, a one-night only event, is bringing together serious heavy-hitters at the Yacht Club of Monaco to open up business leads between the Principality and the Middle East, give access to new markets and raise capital.
On Friday 2nd July, the Yacht Club of Monaco will be the special location for the upcoming conference, Unite Monaco.
UNITE, short for ‘Unlocking New Investment, Trade and Economies’, is being hosted by The Private Investment Group and is in partnership with the Private Office of H. H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Alnahyan. The Sheikh is looking to attract serious entrepreneurial opportunities for his home country, the United Arab Emirates.
The conference will feature leadership discussions and dinner with an ultra-exclusive guest list of family offices, funds, U/HNWI and multi-national companies who are looking to “bring together the pioneers and agents of change from the full global spectrum of business under one roof.”
The evening will focus on major global trends, particularly those that have come about since the pandemic, offering alternative perspectives and applying them to Monaco. The idea is to build a bridge between the Principality and the Middle East to generate trade and investment.
Some of the topics to be covered include a talk on the acceleration and concentration of the digital economy, growing income inequality, the growing role of government, deglobalisation, the future of remote work, and multilateral cooperation.
Organisers are expecting VIPs and big names with more than 60 businesses attending and over 100 delegates, 40 investors, 50 family office representatives and 50 CEOs in attendance from at least 10 nations.