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Day: 20 July 2022

France signs deal with UAE for new energy projects

by: Stephanie Horsman
20/07/2022

A new partnership signed between France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan was signed in Paris promising to look at joint energy investment projects as the way forward to replacing reliance on Russia’s supplies.

The French government has released a statement saying that France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made a deal to work together on projects in the hydrogen, renewable and nuclear energy sectors.

The UAE has materialised as a strategic partner for many countries who are currently looking for a way around importing energy from Russia. Europe has been spooked by the shortfalls facing them due to the sanctions against Russian energy following President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In the currently uncertain energy context, this agreement will pave the way for a stable long-term framework for cooperation, opening the way for new industrial contracts,” the statement went on to say.

The two leaders fashioned the deal between French energy supplier Total Energies and the UAE’s state oil company, ADNOC. France is particularly enthusiastic to procure a steady supply of diesel from the country.

“The UAE is keen to support energy security in the world in general and in France in particular,” Sheikh Mohamed told Macron, according to Emirati state news agency WAM.

The Middle Eastern nation has said they are now turning their attention to supplying energy to Europe after 40 years focusing on the far east. France joins the United States in wishing to work closer with the Emirates to secure energy. President Joe Biden recently attended a meeting between the United States, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, and was overheard speaking to President Macron at G7 in June about energy supplies from the Middle East.

The move is not without controversy. Human Rights Watch said in a statement on its website that Macron’s “search for alternative supplies seems likely to reinforce France and the UAE’s already close ties” but that the meetings “should not include giving the crown prince a pass on the UAE’s atrocious human rights record.”

Sheikh Mohamed, who also goes by MBZ, was on his first overseas state visit since taking office in May following the death of his half-brother.

 

 

Photo source: Reuters

 

 

 

French Riviera hit with hottest summer start on record

by: Stephanie Horsman
20/07/2022

Figures from Météo France show that the French Riviera, and Monaco, have been suffering through the hottest start to summer since record-taking began in 1947.

One only needs to step outside to know that the South of France and Monaco are experiencing a serious heatwave. What’s now been confirmed is that the first half of summer 2022 has been record-breakingly hot. Since this beginning of the meteorological summer, Météo France has counted 39 days above normal.

The region has seen the mercury climb to new heights in recent days, with temperatures surpassing 3ºC above normal. This even beats the disastrous summer of 2003 when 20,000 people died as a result of heat-related conditions.

This trend of super-hot temps has progressed steadily over the past decade. It began in 2012 when the temperatures rose 0.8º above average. In 2015, 2017 and 2019, the rise was almost 2º more.

The Alpes-Maritimes was placed on orange vigilance on 17th July and remained so into the next day.

The Côte is not the only place setting records for heat. 69 of France’s departments are on orange alert and 15 on the highest-level red alert. The heat is expected to continue with no real relief in sight for the foreseeable future.

Warnings are in place for people, especially the vulnerable, to consider the effects of high temps, and to stay indoors during the hottest hours, wear light clothing, and drink lots of water.

 

Monaco Cloud ready for launch

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/07/2022

The Monaco Cloud has just been approved by the Digital Security Agency, the final step before the service rolls out across the Principality.

Just a few months after the launch of the first Sovereign State Cloud in Europe by Prince Albert II, Monaco Cloud services this week received the green light from the national authority in charge of the country’s security of information systems.

Set up as part of the Principality’s digital transformation program ‘Extended Monaco’, the Sovereign Cloud aims to host most of the State’s applications and data, and be a leader in the private sector while guaranteeing the highest global safety standards.

By becoming the first and only Cloud operator approved in the Principality, Monaco Cloud is positioning itself as a strategic pillar of Monegasque economic development, according to the government, as well as a real factor of attractiveness for the country. It will make it possible to offer all of its customers the same guarantees in terms of security and sovereignty as those of the Government’s most sensitive systems.

“Monaco Cloud is meeting the commitments made almost a year ago to the Sovereign,” says Minister of State Pierre Dartout. “With the success of this new step accomplished by Monaco Cloud, Monaco is definitively freeing itself from its geographical constraints and offers Monegasque companies a competitive Cloud. This is why I invite all Monegasque economic players to rely on the solutions of our local operator.”

Frédéric Genta, Interministerial Delegate for Attractiveness and Digital Transition, adds: “Thanks to the Monaco Cloud, the Prince’s Government will be able to migrate all of its applications, just as companies wishing to set up in the Principality will. We now offer them all the digital infrastructure necessary for their development. Beyond the state sphere, Monaco Cloud is a powerful vector of economic growth and attractiveness for the Principality.”

Monaco Life is proud to announce that we will be among the first companies to be hosted on the Monaco Cloud.

 

 

 

Monaco season tickets go on sale

by: Luke Entwistle
20/07/2022

AS Monaco fans can now purchase their season tickets with prices starting from as little as €145 for the entire domestic league campaign.

Tickets for those hoping to renew have already been on sale for nearly a week, but fans hoping to join the AS Monaco family and cheer on Philippe Clement’s men at the Stade Louis II, potentially for the first time, can now do so.

Fans can buy tickets either from the ticket office at the stadium from between 12:30-18:00 (Monday-Friday), from the online ticketing office, whilst fans can get in contact with the club by phoning +377 92 05 37 54 or emailing tickets@asmonaco.com.

Following two years of absence, Monaco have brought back the “Munegu family” package, which includes a ticket for one adult and one child for €450. Those who choose this option will sit in a dedicated stand, which will have activities at each match.

The deadline for purchasing a season ticket is 12th August, ahead of the club’s first home match of the season against Stade Rennais on 13th August. Students, U16s and people aged over 65 can benefit from a reduced tariff. See the full list of prices below (prices vary by stand):

Standard: €1300-€220

Season ticket holders reduced tariff (U16, over-65s, students, Monégasues, disabled, 2021/22 season ticket holders): €1000-€145

Kids (U12): €500-€72,50

“Munegu Family”: €450

 

 

 

France proposes minimum language rule for residency

by: Stephanie Horsman
20/07/2022

France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wants to introduce a new law that links a residency card to a minimum level of French.

People wishing to obtain a residency card, or carte de sejour, in France may have to up their language skills in future. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has declared his intention to propose a minimum language proficiency clause to the government, which is running concurrent with a proposal to expel foreigners who “commit serious acts”.

If this comes to fruition, the rule will be that applicants have a level A1 proficiency in French, the lowest achievable language level, rather than the current rule, which is simply an intention to learn the language through enrolment to language courses.

This nod is meant partly to satisfy factions in the National Assembly outside President Macron’s party, La Republiique en Marche, with whom he needs the support of to pass new laws.

Immigration has been a bugbear for the Interior Minister. Last year, there were more than 60,000 calls for expulsion, with a mere 3,500 being carried out, representing only 5.6% of the obligations to leave French territory.

Macron’s record in this area is weaker than his predecessor François Hollande, though he vowed in 2019 to stick to a 100% expulsion rate.

 

 

 

Photo by Fabien Maurin on Unsplash