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Month: May 2022

Fans and club in unison as AS Monaco’s final challenge awaits

by: Luke Entwistle
19/05/2022

Players and supporters alike revelled in the “good vibes” during an open training session at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday, as AS Monaco prepare for their final game of the Ligue 1 season.

Prior to Wednesday’s session, the club recognised the unwavering support of the fan groups as they were presented with the new AS Monaco 2022/23 home kit by owner Dimitry Rybolovlev before last Saturday’s match against Brest.

The 18 fan groups, from all across France and even Italy, are what give Monaco their motto “Everywhere. Always.”. The groups are largely responsible for the club filling the away ends matches across the country, and they will do so once more before the season’s end.

In under a day, Monaco sold their 1,000-seat allocation for the trip to RC Lens on Saturday, where just a draw will suffice to earn them a place on the Ligue 1 podium. For those who don’t have the opportunity to make the trip up north, there is an exciting alternative right here in the Principality.

A giant screen will be erected in front of the Pésage stand of the Stade Louis II, which will broadcast the game live. It will be a spectacular open-air cinema experience, with the stadium’s iconic arches towering above the screen. With qualification for the Champions League on the line, there is bound to be a great atmosphere in a stand that is usually inhabited by the club’s Ultras group.

Tickets for the event can be bought at www.billeterie.asmonaco.com, or from the Stade Louis II ticket office. Access is free for season ticket holders, whilst general admission will cost just €5. VIP access is available for €70 (without tax), and can be bought by contacting gmotyka@asmonaco.com.

Fans can arrive from 8pm and a whole host of pre-match, half-time and post-match activities have been planned, and mascot Bouba will also be in attendance.

Before making the trip, fans descended on the stadium on Wednesday to attend an opening training session. On a hot day in the Principality, nearly 300 fans came to watch the likes of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Wissam Ben Yedder prepare for the big fixture. There was no shortage of determination and effort from the players, but all of them still mustered the energy to engage with fans after the session as they posed for pictures, chatted and signed autographs.

As Tchouaméni and Youssouf Fofana revealed post-session, not only was this a great event to allow fans to feel even closer to the club, it was also beneficial for the players themselves. “They’ve given us energy and good vibes,” said Fofana. “It’s a pleasure to train in front of the public.”

Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

 

 

 

Covid statistics show interesting anomalies

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/05/2022

Monaco’s official statisticians IMSEE have released the latest Covid-19 picture for the year so far, revealing that more people have been infected in 2022 than the two previous years combined and that infection rates have dropped significantly since their winter peak in late January.

Covid barely registers on the radar of most people these days as lockdowns and quarantines seem like bad dreams, and the infection rates are coming down to manageable and reasonable levels.

That being said, there are still some interesting facts in the latest report by IMSEE that may be a bit surprising.

As of 30th April, the total number of infected residents since the beginning of the pandemic was 11,770, equalling 28.3% of the population. 688 of those were infected twice and 507 were hospitalised, with 61 needing intensive care.

The death toll sits at 57, with the average age of patients being 84.5 years of age. This was split closely between men, at 83.4 years, and women at 85.7 years. Over two-thirds of the deceased were 80 years or older and 14 were Monegasque nationals.

It is interesting to note that by the end of April 2022, there were 6,603 total new cases compared to 5,167 in all of 2020 and 2021 combined. Additionally, at the most current checks, hospital admissions sat at 185 so far in 2022, almost double that of 2020 when there were 81 but less than 2021’s 241. The death toll is, however, less than in 2021, with 19 so far in 2022 compared to 35 the previous year.

The average age of those getting infected dropped from 46.2 years in 2020 to 39.7 years in 2021 and 39.1 years of age in 2022.

Perhaps also surprising are the number of cases reported amongst the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated who caught the virus. In April, 344 unvaccinated people were infected with Covid-19, which equates to 34% of the total new cases for the month. There were only nine partially vaccinated people who contracted the disease, but then the numbers go up again. 133 fully vaccinated residents, representing 13.1% of the total number in April, and 526 fully vaccinated people with boosters tested positive, equalling 52%.

Hospital admissions in April were up from the previous month, 36 to 29, and both months saw three new deaths. Of those hospitalised, six were unvaccinated, six were fully jabbed and 24 had received a booster. The vast majority were 80 years and older, and there have been no people under 40 in intensive care in 2022 so far.

In March, the sixth wave rolled through the region, less than two months after the previous one. The last wave was far smaller than the previous, but is still notable as the second most virulent period since the start of the pandemic. By the end of April, the incidence rate in Monaco fell to 424.

 

Photo by Maxime on Usplash

 

 

 

Club Suisse welcomes German politician Julia Klöckner

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/05/2022

The Club Suisse de Monaco recently invited former German government minister Julia Klöckner to speak on a variety of relevant topics, including the effects of rising inflation in the Euro zone and the dependence on Russian gas and oil imports. 

The Suisse Club de Monaco recently hosted an event featuring a big name in German politics as headliner, speaking on “Inflation, Sovereign Debt and Military Conflict in Ukraine – the Economy in Turmoil”, followed by a group lunch which included the International German Club of Monaco.

The speaker was none other than Julia Klöckner, who served under long-time Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018-2021 as the German Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Production.

As economic policy spokeswoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party’s parliamentary group as well as federal treasurer of the CDU, Mrs. Klöckner pointed out the economic interdependence with foreign countries, the development and effects of rising inflation in the Euro zone as well as the dependence on Russian gas and oil imports. Afterwards, there was an intensive discussion about the effects of the military conflict in Ukraine.

The important and serious topic garnered much attention and a lively discussion ensued.

Lest it be thought she is all work and no play, Klöckner, the daughter of winemakers, first hit headlines in Germany when she was selected to be the German Wine Queen of 1995. The Wine Queen represents the wine industry in the country and has the support of two “princesses” who together form Germany’s Wine Ambassadors for a term of one year.

 

Photo from left to right: Dr. Arik Röschke (President Club Suisse de Monaco), Julia Klöckner, Beatrix Baronne von Dellingshausen (Co-President Club Allemand International de Monaco)

 

 

 

Venturi: flying the Monaco flag in space

by: Stephanie Horsman
18/05/2022

Monaco-based Venturi Group, headed by Gildo Pastor, can count space exploration to its already forward-thinking vision, with its newest entity, Venturi Lab, poised to design and build mobility solutions capable to handling the extreme conditions found on the Moon and Mars.

After two decades of perfecting electric vehicles on Earth, the Venturi Group is looking to the heavens for its next venture. Using the expertise and experience they have culled over the years, the company has expanded to the creation of durable, reusable space vehicles via their new entity, Venturi Lab, based in Switzerland.

Co-founded with Dr Antonio Delfino, former Head of the Chemistry and Physics Department and Fellow at Michelin, Pastor’s vision has extended beyond the Earth-based into the design and manufacture of people-movers suitable for use in space.

To bring the necessary parts needed together, Pastor has created a partnership with Venturi Astrolab in California. In this capacity, engineers from Venturi Monaco, Venturi North America and Venturi Lab will work together to build batteries and use materials that can withstand and function at very low temperatures, create solar panels, fashion deformable wheels, build electric vehicle control systems and incorporate the integration of human factors for planetary rovers.

“Since 2001, we have been creating high-performance two-and four-wheel vehicles – and even tracked vehicles – that can operate at -50° C or up to 549 km/h depending on the model,” said Pastor. “Today, I am putting our expertise and resources in the service of space research, a field where excellence is the norm. I want to fly the Monegasque flag ever higher.”

The Venturi Lab

Venturi’s aspirations are definitely aiming for the stars. Basing the designs on what is known of the harsh conditions on the Moon and Mars, they are developing technologies that will see their rovers heading to space with the upcoming NASA and SpaceX lunar missions.

“Relying on its strategic partners across the Atlantic, Venturi Astrolab hopes to supply its vehicles to NASA,” said the company in a press release. “For its part and in parallel, Venturi Lab is working with Thales Alenia Space in France and Beyond Gravity, formerly known as RUAG Space, in Zurich, Switzerland. These collaborations will enable Venturi Lab to test new space technologies and present them to the European Space Agency (ESA). Over the long term, Venturi Lab also aims to invent technologies that will help to reduce land-based, maritime and atmospheric pollution.”

The first breakthroughs and achievements of the new venture will be forthcoming in the coming months.

 

 

Photos source: Venturi Group

 

 

 

 

New ambassadors: Guinea-Bissau, Spain, Indonesia, and Ecuador

by: Stephanie Horsman
18/05/2022

Monaco welcomed four new Ambassadors to town this week, given a warm reception by first the Prince, then by the Minister for External Relations and Cooperation, who treated them to lunch.

A luncheon was held on 17th May at the Hermitage Hotel hosted by Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister for External Relations and Cooperation, to meet Monaco’s latest round of new Ambassadors, hailing from Guinea-Bissau, Spain, Indonesia, and Ecuador. The lunch followed a morning meeting with Prince Albert II who received their Creedence Letters.

A lawyer by training and a career diplomat specialising in international relations, Carlos-Edmilson Marques Vieira was the Permanent Delegate of Guinea-Bissau to UNESCO. Since 2017, he has been Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

With a degree in law, Victorio Redondo Baldrich began his diplomatic career in 1991 at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Counsellor for Political Affairs at the Spanish Embassy in Moscow from 1996 to 2000 then posted as the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU in Brussels, he was recently Spanish Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Mohamad Omar served as Chief of Staff in the Secretariat of the Vice President of Indonesia since 2011. Previously, this diplomat had many experiences at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and posts abroad including to Brussels, Geneva, and Beijing, before becoming Ambassador to Italy from 2009 to 2011.

Trained as an agricultural engineer, Oscar José Orrantia Vernaza has had several careers in the private sector in the fields of industry, agriculture and banking. In 2021, he was made Ambassador of Ecuador to France.

 

Photo from left to right: Carlos-Edmilson MARQUES VIEIRA, Ambassador of Guinea-Bissau; Mohamad OEMAR, Ambassador of Indonesia; Isabelle BERRO-AMADEÏ, Government Counsellor-Minister for External Relations and Cooperation; Laurent ANSELMI, Head of Cabinet of H.S.H. the Prince; Oscar José ORRANTIA VERNAZA, Ambassador of Ecuador and Victorio REDONDO BALDRICH, Ambassador of Spain. © Stéphane Danna – Communication Department

 

 

 

Man-made tide pools in Port of Fontvieille a success

by: Stephanie Horsman
18/05/2022

Artificial tide pools were created in 2019 at water level in front of the Fontvieille Port as part of the government’s ongoing ecological restoration programme. The results so far have been encouraging.

Tide pools can be likened to underwater rain forests in that they harbour a huge number of plant and animal species, with each playing an important role. Seaweeds, small crabs, anemones, small fish, mussels and many other creatures can make a tide pool their home.

As such, the Department of the Environment installed five tide pool-esque riprap reefs in Fontvieille’s port back in 2019. Since then, they have been monitored to ensure their environmental effectiveness, and the first results have just been released, showing the colonisation of several species by mere sight checks.

ECOncrete and the Monaco Department of the Environment worked together to install a set of coastal armour units along the Port’s rocky riprap. They add structural support to the riprap, while creating an intertidal habitat that’s absent from traditional rubble mound revetments and breakwaters. Initial monitoring results show significant ecological differences between ECOncrete technologies and control rock plots, including multiple invertebrate, fish, and algae species, according to the manufacturer.

A biological monitoring session with an. “Awareness panel” was held on 18th May at the Jean Charles Rey dyke, where they located and explained the interest of these riprap reefs as part of the restoration programmes Clean Ports and Clean Ports Active in Biodiversity.

Photo: L Aquilina – Environmental Department