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Day: 24 August 2021

Josephine Baker entering Pantheon 45 years after death

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/08/2021

Performer, resistance fighter and equality campaigner Josephine Baker, who rests in Monaco’s cemetery, will be the first black woman to be inducted into France’s national monument, the Pantheon. 

The legendary Josephine Baker, who broke racial barriers in 1920’s Paris and spent her life campaigning for racial equality, as well as thwarting the Nazis during World War II, is to be inducted into the Panthéon memorial monument in Paris on 30th November, it was announced on Sunday.

Baker lived in Roquebrune from 1968 until her death in 1975 at the age of 68 and she is interred at the Monaco Cemetery.

Born in St Louis, Missouri in the United States as Freda Josephine McDonald, she rose to international stardom in the 1920’s and 30s as a singer and dancer in Paris. She was the most successful American working in the French capital and was described by Ernest Hemingway as “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.”

As wildly popular as she was, she was not afraid to stick her neck out for a cause she believed in. She notoriously used her celebrity connections during World War II to gather information on German troop movements, which she cleverly passed on discreetly written on musical scores.

She also was an outspoken anti-racism campaigner and famously marched on Washington alongside Dr Martin Luther King, Jr on the day of his “I have a dream” speech. To this end, she also adopted 12 children of different races and nationalities, calling them her “rainbow tribe”.

Her inclusion at the Panthéon puts her in with the good and the great of France, including Marie Curie, Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. She is only the sixth woman, and the first black woman, to be inducted.

The decision was handed down from the Elysée by President Macron, following a request from the Baker family, initiated in 2013 and supported by several known personages. Additionally, a petition launched two years ago, in favour of the pantheonization of the star, saw nearly 38,000 signatures collected. 

Baker’s remains will stay in her beloved Monaco, but she will be remembered on the 30th of November in Paris with a plaque according to her son, Claude Bouillon-Baker.

In early August, the National Council announced that Josephine Baker would be one of three females to have a street named after them in the Principality.

 
RELATED STORIES: 

Female figures honoured in Monaco

 
 

Var blaze “under control” as fundraiser launched for victims

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/08/2021

The fire that has been raging in the Var since last Monday destroying 7,000 hectares is said to be under control, but still not entirely extinguished. Meanwhile, local mayors have started a fundraising campaign for victims. 

The massive blaze that ravaged the Var over the past week, taking lives and properties and devastating a fragile environment, is now no longer spreading.

“The fire is under control. It is contained in its current envelope thanks to the work of the teams on the ground”, explained the emergency services who worked to create a barrier “as tight as possible.”

There are still 400 firefighters on hand to fully put out the fire. This phase of the operation is set to last several days.

Local mayors in the department, led by Dean of Mayors Suzanne Riboux, have launched a collection campaign for the affected municipalities, setting up a dedicated account. The funds collected will be distributed according to need through the social assistance office.

“The drama experienced in recent days by the municipalities of Gonfaron, Le Luc, Les Mayons, Vidauban, Le Cannet des Maures, La Garde-Freinet, the Plan de la Tour, Cavalaire, Cogolin, la Mole, and Gassin affects everyone between us in our hearts as mayors of the Var,” said Mayor of Toulon Hubert Falco in a press release.

“Our department has always been united in its territorial diversity. Today, it is our duty to come together, to be more united than ever in the face of this appalling disaster,” he went on to say.

Meanwhile, a 56-year-old man was arrested over the weekend for attempting to light a fire just off a departmental road near the Varois town of Cavalaire-sur-Mer. A man was spotted by holidaymakers around 1pm on the 21st of August trying to start a blaze in the forest. The tourists immediately put out the fire with car mats and water bottles, then pursued and caught the suspect before calling the police. The man is currently in custody.

Philippe Leonelli, the mayor of Cavalaire-sur-Mer, intends to give a medal to the quick-thinking tourists, who by their action prevented another catastrophic blaze. “They saved, I think, an economy, a place of biodiversity. The wind was on the wrong side, so when we see the state of the hill today after a very dry summer, it could have been a disaster.”

 
 
 
Photo by Henrique Malaguti
 
 
 

Black market for health passes booming

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/08/2021

People are forking over hundreds of euros for fake health passes from online black marketeers who are offering passes via email in as little as eight hours.
A flourishing black market for health passes has sprung up in France since the government said that they would be required for entry to restaurants, cafes, public transport and several other public venues.
The decision caused a swirl of controversy and spurred five straight weekends of protests.
Now, with the black-market passes, those who are unwilling to be vaccinated are seeing another way to have their cake and eat it, too. The market for the counterfeit passes has turned up on Snapchat and other social media sites advertising the fake passes. Accounts only last for a few days, in order to keep one step ahead of the authorities, but pop up under different account names constantly
The ads purport, “Your health pass by email in eight to 10 hours maximum”, “Vaccination is optional thanks to our service” or “Say no to the vaccine and get a health pass without getting vaccinated.”
One 28-year-old event planner told AFP he received his pass for €350, despite being able to get the real thing for free. He says he is not part of the anti-vax brigade, but he simply doesn’t think young people need it.
“If Covid-19 still exists when I’m 50 or 60, then yes, I’ll get vaccinated,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Counterfeiters collect real information from clients, including their valid French health care system numbers, then pass them on to obliging doctor friends who input them into the system or they hack into the system and change information to make it look as if the client had been jabbed.
Prices for the service are ranging from €145 to €350 and payments are made on untraceable French mobile apps or by using pre-paid cards or vouchers.
The national health system has made complaints to the police and offered tips about people exhibiting suspicious behaviour. If caught, the fraudsters face up to five years behind bars and a fine up to €150,000. End users face prison sentences up to three years. Several people have already been charged, including a woman who worked at a vaccination centre selling passes and is now serving a year’s home detention.
 
 
Photo by Mat Napo on Unsplash
 
 
 

Covid-19: Monaco pushes for increased testing

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/08/2021

In preparation for the return to school in September, the government is asking that all people coming back from summer holidays, even those vaccinated, get a Covid test to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the Principality.

September is synonymous with back-to-school and back to work. With that in mind, the government of Monaco released a statement Monday saying that it “strongly recommends” that residents, employees and students in the Principality take a Covid test before heading back to work and school, especially if they are returning from holidays abroad.

Regular screenings can help break the chain of contamination, preventing spikes in new cases and lessening the chances of people to becoming ill. It will also ensure, says the government, that the academic year begins in a most positive way, under the best sanitary conditions possible.

From 23rd August to 11th September the government is offering free PCR screening tests without the need to go to a doctor for a prescription. The testing will take place at the National Screening Centre headquartered at the Rainier III Auditorium.

Though the tests are free, an appointment is necessary. To obtain a time slot, people are asked to call 92 05 55 00 and leave a message. Someone from the centre will return the call and set up a time.

In the week leading to 22nd August, Monaco’s incidence rate had remained stable at 192. The positivity rate among those tested has dropped slightly from 4% at the end of July to 2.97%.