Princess Charlene was joined by her husband Prince Albert and children Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella on Saturday as she showed her support for the kids participating in the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament.
The 10th edition of the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament was held at the Louis II Stadium on Saturday, organised by the Monaco Rugby Federation in partnership with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
The international U-12 Rugby Sevens tournament welcomed 16 teams from 14 countries: Andorra, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Spain, France, Georgia, Mauritius, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Morocco, Monaco, and Switzerland.
Together with Prince Albert and the twins, Princess Charlene watched on as the young teams fought it out for the 2022 title. Also present was her brother and General Secretary of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation Gareth Wittstock.
After a day of competition, the Montpellier Hérault Rugby team won the international tournament trophy after dominating the final 5-1 against the Apollo Perelini Rugby Skills Academy of Dubai.
The tournament is named after the patron saint of both the Principality and Corsica.
It was Princess Charlene’s second official engagement this year and marks a notable return to public life after a difficult year.
For more pictures of the tournament, click on the Foundation’s Instagram page below…
Ferrari will start the inaugural Miami Grand Prix with both its F1-75s on the front row after Charles Leclerc took pole position ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz in a session that once again demonstrated how close the battle is at the front of the pack.
It was the Scuderia’s 67th front row lock-out, while for Charles, it was his 12th pole position, which sees him equal the number of Ferrari poles secured by Sebastian Vettel. In the all-time list, he is now equal with Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard.
The two Ferrari drivers comfortably made it through the first two parts of qualifying, almost among the quickest on their way to Q3. Charles and Carlos were in the best possible shape for the final showdown as they each had two sets of new soft tyres at their disposal. On his first run, the Monegasque managed a 1’29”055 and his team-mate was a fraction slower in 1’29”071; but Max Verstappen sat at the top of the time sheet. The Ferrari duo pitted for fresh tyres and set off once again in pursuit of the quickest time. Leclerc produced a brilliant lap, stopping the clocks in 1’28”796 and Sainz was also on great form, delivering an equally impressive 1’28”986 to secure second place.
“It feels really good to come here and put everything together on such a difficult track,” said Charles Leclerc. “Although I was not very happy with turns 1-2-3, it was a good lap and I’m really glad to have secured pole. I feel at ease with the car. It feels great to drive and really makes you think of how to extract its full potential.Tomorrow will be a tight race and it is good to have Carlos by my side.”
Sunday’s race looks like being a tricky one in which anything could happen, particularly as air and track temperatures will be very high. However, there can be no better way to start than with both cars on the front row. The lights go out at 9.30pm Monaco time.
Photo of Charles Leclerc with acting legend Michael Douglas at the inaugural Miami GP, source: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
AS Monaco secured an eighth consecutive victory against Lille on Friday (2-1), making them the most form side in Europe’s top five divisions, and certifying their Champions League credentials.
Philippe Clement’s men have provisionally reached second place in the league, although Marseille and Rennes are yet to play, and wins for both sides would relegate Monaco back down to fourth.
Regardless of the results, Monaco’s destiny is once again in their hands and they are not only the most in-form side in France, but also in Europe’s top five divisions. It is also their best run since February-August 2017.
Should they win their two remaining league games, at home against Brest and then away to Lens on the final day of the season, they will most likely find themselves competing in the Champions League next season.
Within that run, Monaco have won matches in style, notably against PSG and Saint-Étienne. But at times they have also had to dig deep and lean on their experience from last season’s Champions League push, as well as on the infallible serenity of their coach, who is a reassuring figure on the touchline in moments of adversity.
This victory certainly goes into the “dig deep” category, as Monaco prevailed against the reigning champions, who despite a troubled season, still have the ability and nous to make things difficult for any opposition.
Monaco were creatively defunct for large periods of the first-half, but still went into the break with a lead to defend. The opener came from an unorthodox source, Aurélien Tchouaméni, a reliable defensive presence in Monaco’s midfield, but certainly not a reliable source of goals, popped up on the edge of the box to dispatch past the helpless Lille goalkeeper.
Lille weren’t beaten and forced their way back to parity in the second-half. Englishman Angel Gomes’ run worked an opening inside the box, which he duly profited from as he curled into the top corner, way out of the reach of Alexander Nubel in the Monaco goal.
There is an air of inevitably to Monaco nowadays, of a powerful unrelenting force that just always seems to have just too much for their opponent, and so it proved again. It was once again Tchouaméni, this time on his stronger right foot, who drove home a spectacular shot from range to give Monaco the advantage once more.
There are strong rumours that this may be Tchouaméni’s last season in the red and white of Monaco, and if this is his swansong, then it’s a beautiful one at that.
From there, Monaco, as they have done so often in recent times, managed the game from there, barely giving Lille a sniff of goal. Clement’s men march-on (1-2), their place in Europe next season now looks more than likely, although in what competition remains to be seen.
Post-match, Clement praised his side’s determination. “It was not our best match, but in my opinion, it was a victory won with the determination and solidarity of the whole team because we gave everything to take these three points.”
Clement added that his side need to remain “focused” and not try to “calculate” as his side go into their penultimate game of the season against Brest, where a victory would mathematically secure some form of European football, not that Clement is paying attention to those calculations.
Work is progressing well on the new A8 exit ramp that will hopefully make life easier for the thousands of commuters who travel to Monaco for work every day – and others who get caught up in the traffic jams.
A year after work began, National Council President Stéphane Valeri visited the site alongside Alpes-Maritimes politician Eric Ciotti, at the invitation of Mayor of La Turbie Jean-Jacques Raffaele.
The purpose of the visit was to take stock of the progress of this strategic project, co-financed by the Monegasque State, the Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Council, the Agglomeration Community of the French Riviera and the Escota-VINCI Autoroutes network.
From the 1st quarter of 2023, the new A8 ramp will provide additional access to the Principality for the 47,000 commuter employees driving daily from France. The original delivery date was 2022.
With nearly 3,000 vehicles expected to use this new motorway exit, the opening of the slip road will improve access to Monaco, reduce the number of cars crossing La Turbie, and improve traffic flow on the A500 motorway in the Monaco tunnel.
Source: Vinci autoroutes
The €6 million project is part of an ambitious overall policy to improve mobility between the Alpes-Maritimes department and the Principality of Monaco, supporting the employment and economic opportunities of both countries while improving the quality of life of border residents.
The Principality is also financially contributing to the improvement of the rail network and partial subsidies for train journeys, as well as the 100 Nice-Menton bus line.
Following the site visit, Stéphane Valeri and Eric Ciotti met at National Council headquarters to discuss other issues including housing for French workers around the Principality, the future Monegasque waste sorting and recovery facility, and progress on the reconstruction of the valleys affected by storm Alex, to which Monaco has financially contributed.
Photo of Eric Ciotti, Stéphane Valeri and Jean-Jacques Raffaele, source: National Council of Monaco
Monaco’s animal protection association Save, Protect, Support Animals (SpSA) is in need of a cash injection if it is to continue its work saving vulnerable, abused and abandoned animals. Here’s how you can help this important local association.
SpSA is a Monaco-based association whose mission is to find, protect and often save the lives of abused and abandoned animals. But with over €7,500 in unpaid vet bills, the association is facing potential disaster.
The volunteer organisation has therefore put out a call for people to donate to their cause to allow them to continue to help the helpless.
“Veterinary care is our main item of expenditure. In 2021 alone, this represented €22,000,” the SpSA’s Celine Gabrielli told Monaco Matin. “The more we are known, the more animals we take care of, the more the bills accumulate. We have emergency calls for rescues, we have abandoned, injured animals that we have to treat before finding them a foster family. We also have what are called retirement baskets.”
SpSA covers veterinary costs for all animals in their care and they never refuse to give treatment to an animal in need.
“We came to the aid of an abandoned cat who was having litter after litter. During a difficult delivery, I had to take out the last kitten myself. Alone in nature, she would not have survived, nor would the little ones,” said Melyna, secretary of the association. “There were also eight kittens suffering from coryza and ringworm. They were placed in solitary confinement and treated for six weeks. They have since been adopted. We also took in Bambi, a dog whose owner died in her apartment. He was an unhappy dog, who had never known anything but the inside of a flat. He had double hip dysplasia. We took charge of the operation, which was expensive.”
The organisation is aiming to receive government subsidies, but this route is proving slow, and in the meantime, volunteer members are using their own personal funds to keep the association afloat. Since their first call for donations, the amount raised has come to €2,350, not nearly enough to cover the unpaid bills that are mounting. They now are running the risk of vets refusing treatment due to lack of payment.
In addition to funds, the SpSA is also asking for host families who would be willing to temporarily accommodate and care for animals whilst they wait to be adopted by their “forever family”. Spring is a particularly busy time for the association as kittens are being born in this period, making for a huge rise in the number of animals in need.
Foster families must meet some criteria before being allowed to take home an animal, such as having space to keep them separated from other animals in the house whilst they adjust, a secure balcony or terrace if the space has one, and the willingness and ability to purchase food. Vet costs are not the responsibility of the foster parents.
For those who wish to donate, there are three paths:
Monaco’s National Council has voted in a government bill to amend outdated provisions in the law that favour men over women.
A majority of 18 elected officials, with one abstention by Thomas Brezzo and no votes against, on Thursday 5th May supported a government bill which aims to strengthen the protection of women’s rights in the Principality of Monaco.
Government Services spent three years analysing nearly 12,000 legal and legislative texts to identify expressions that have become, over time, obsolete for legal, semantic or scientific reasons. In total, 85 provisions and texts are subject to modification or deletion.
“This updating of the legal provisions contributes to the construction of the edifice of women’s rights and to bringing the Principality into line with the evolution of society and, at the international level, in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations,” said Pierre Dartout, Minister of State. “I would like to salute the Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights, which has made a dynamic contribution to updating the texts of Monegasque law.”
The amendments include things like changing the need for female elected officials to take on the masculine word for councillor, conseillers.
“While this text represents an essentially symbolic progress – it is certainly not the most fundamental text in the history of the evolution of women’s rights in our country – it is another step in the right direction,” said National Council President Stéphane Valeri in his speech to the assembly.
According to Councillor Nathalie Blanc-Amoratti, the amendments are an important step towards changing perceptions about women in society.
“The main objective is of course to change mentalities, and this requires education, awareness and pedagogy from an early age,” said Nathalie Blanc-Amoratti. “In our position as elected officials, we are working with determination to modernise and develop our legislation in accordance with changes in society. And when it comes to women’s rights, there is a lot to be done.”
Other major steps that the Principality has taken recently towards equal rights for women include the extension of maternity leave in 2019, the decriminalisation of abortion that same year, a reform in 2021 of the legal provisions that constitute sexual assault, and a resolution adopted in November 2020 aimed at increasing the representation of women on the boards of directors of public, associative and private entities.
The latest move by the National Council and the Government, under the leadership of Prince Albert II, was welcomed by Céline Cottalorda, Interministerial Delegate for Women’s Rights, who said, “I am very satisfied to see this text come to fruition because it constitutes additional progress for greater equality between the sexes and less discrimination against women.”
Photo source: National Council of Monaco
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