July 2022 - Page 11 of 20

Monaco’s construction boom pumps sector to new highs

14/07/2022

The construction industry is booming in Monaco, generating revenue of €2.1 billion last year, almost triple what it was last decade, a trend that even held true during the pandemic.

At the end of 2021, this major economic sector (MES) was credited with 497 active establishments bringing in revenues over €2 billion, according to the latest report by Monaco’s official statistical agency, IMSEE. This makes construction the third largest sector, representing 13.3% of all revenues generated in Monaco (not including financial and insurance), just behind wholesale trade and support service activities.

Between 2020 and 2021, the increase in construction revenues was due entirely to specialised construction activities, growing by 17.1%. Specialised construction is

composed of things like masonry works, structural works, and electrical and plumbing installations.

Meanwhile, building construction was down by a minor -1.2%, but civil engineering took a significant hit, declining by -35.1%.

By last year’s end, there were 352 construction employers, a gain of 22 over 2021, who had 5,662 employees under their umbrellas, equalling 11% of the Principality’s total workforce. IMSEE stated that there were 1,500 more workers in this sector than in 2012, a record-breaking 35% increase in a decade. Masonry works and building structural works added 512 workers, whilst electrical, plumbing and other installation added 508 new employees.

The proportion of French employees is lower in construction than the national average, sitting at 51.3% versus 62.2% in other sectors. Portuguese and Italians fill in that gap, numbering roughly 1,500, or 20%, of the workers seen here. There are only 22 Monegasques working in construction, making it the sector with the lowest number of nationals.

The employees don’t tend to live as local as in other jobs. Only 4.5% live in Monaco whilst only 19.6% live in neighbouring villages. The vast majority live in the Alpes-Maritimes region followed by those living in Italy, representing 58% and 16.3% respectively.

Construction relies heavily on temporary workers. In the last decade, the number of hours worked has increased by 33%, or 2.7 million hours, for employees, whilst temporary workers hours have quadrupled. In 2021, more than 16.6 million hours were spent toiling in this sector, including 5.9 million by temporary workers. These figures offset the decline seen during the pandemic.

Photo of the Maraterra district construction by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life

Embolo poised for Monaco transfer, Lecomte departs on loan

by: Luke Entwistle

14/07/2022

AS Monaco are set to sign Borussia Mönchengladbach forward Breel Embolo for a reported €12.5m fee. He’s destined to join an attacking line that has already been bolstered by the arrival of Takumi Minamino, who joined-up with his team-mates last week.

Whilst there is no official confirmation from either club, the imminent arrival of Embolo on Le Rocher has been reported by multiple media, including L’Équipe. German journalist Patrick Berger confirmed that the Swiss international was in Monaco on Thursday in order to complete his medical ahead of the signing.

The transfer almost certainly rules out a move for free agent Andrea Belotti, which had been reported by multiple Italian publications, but which had been insistently denied by Foot Mercato. Monaco are now stacked in the attacking department although few players are being linked with departures.

Wissam Ben Yedder, Kevin Volland, Myron Boadu, Aleksandr Golovin, Gelson Martins, Krépin Diatta, Minamino, Sofiane Diop and now Embolo are all vying for – likely – just four starting positions should Philippe Clement set his team up in a 4-2-3-1.

At the age of just 25, Embolo has already racked up over 50 appearances for the Swiss international side, scoring nine goals. During the Bundesliga last season, he made 29 appearances and scored on nine occasions. He finished the season in scintillating form, scoring six in his final eight games of the season.

Embolo arrives on a cut-price deal as a result of his expiring contract. With only one year remaining on his current deal, Monaco have managed to snap-up the player at a price below market value.

Embolo is a versatile player, who can play anywhere across the front line. He has both the ability to hold the ball up to bring team-mates into play, as well as the ability to run in behind with his blistering pace. He will also adhere to Clement’s intense pressing system, just as he did at Mönchengladbach under Marco Rose.

After bursting onto the scene at Euro 2016, where he was the youngest – and most exciting – component of Switzerland’s squad, he struggled with injuries at Schalke, but has got his career back on track at German rival Mönchengladbach.

Having signed two players in the forward positions, Monaco are now likely to turn their attention to adding midfield and defensive reinforcements. Despite promising performances from Félix Lemarechal in pre-season, Monaco will inevitably strengthen in the defensive midfield position. Boubakary Soumaré looks like the most likely candidate to replace Aurélien Tchouaméni currently, although the club have also been linked with Amadou Onana and Danilo.

Lecomte back out the revolving door

Sporting director Paul Mitchell said at the end of last season that they “will undoubtedly have a need for another goalkeeper, but the context surrounding that means we will have to wait a bit.” We can therefore assume that any goalkeeping arrival will come towards the back end of the window, which closes on 1st September.

Thomas Didillon, goalkeeper for Monaco’s satellite club Cercle Brugge, went on the summer camp with the Principality side to Portugal and has remained at the club. It is unclear whether he is being considered as an option, but his continued presence at La Turbie and the ease at which he could be brought in certainly make him a very viable option.

That need to strengthen in goal has been exacerbated by the departure of Benjamin Lecomte. The Frenchman had barely stepped back through the door at Monaco having returned from an underwhelming loan spell at Atletico Madrid, before being loaned out once again to Spain. He will spend the upcoming season at Catalan club Espanyol. There is no option to purchase the player permanently within the deal, meaning that when he returns to Monaco next summer, he will have just one year left on his contract.

Photo credit: Imago Images

IPBES releases Value of Nature report

by: Cassandra Tanti

14/07/2022

The latest IPBES report has warned that a global economy focused on short-term profit is wrecking the planet and called for a drastically different approach as to how we value nature.

Without this shift, universally accepted goals of sustainable development and greater equity will remain out-of-reach, the science advisory panel for biodiversity, known as IPBES, found.

“The way we understand economic growth is at the core of the biodiversity crisis,” Unai Pascual, an ecological economist at the University of Bern and co-chair of a 139-nation meeting in Bonn that approved the report, told AFP.

“The new assessment aims to bring different types of values into the decisions leading us to transformative change.”

Some 80 experts combed through more than 13,000 studies, looking at how market-based values have contributed to the destruction of ecosystems that sustain us, and what other values might best foster sustainability.

A 34-page Summary for Policymakers, approved over the weekend, comes as the UN steers an international process to stem species loss and protect nature.

In December, nations gather to finalise a treaty tasked with halting the decline of biodiversity and setting humanity on a path to “live in harmony with nature” by mid-century.

“Nature is what sustains us all,” commented Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme. “It gives us food, medicine, raw materials, oxygen, climate regulation and much more.”

But a five-fold increase in per-capita GDP since 1950 has maimed the natural world that made such growth possible.

A million species — including, arguably, our own — are threatened with extinction and global warming is on track to make large swathes of the planet unlivable.

‘Not going to be easy’

Two landmark UN reports — one on climate change in 2018, another on biodiversity in 2019 — concluded that only a wholesale transformation of the way we produce, distribute and consume almost everything can stave off runaway global warming and a collapse of ecosystems.

That already Herculean task becomes nigh impossible, the IPBES report warns, unless humanity also changes the way it perceives and values nature.

Monaco Life with AFP. Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash

No vacation for AS Monaco in Portugal

by: Luke Entwistle

14/07/2022

AS Monaco have returned from their week-long training camp in Portugal with their unbeaten pre-season record intact, an enhanced level of fitness and a new member of the squad as the new season approaches.

Monaco will begin the new season earlier than most. Having missed out on second spot in the dying seconds against RC Lens in the final game of last season, the club, like last year, will have to earn their Champions League spot through the play-offs. Preparations are therefore in full swing.

Pre-season unbeaten record maintained

Philippe Clement’s men began their pre-season preparations with a win against Satellite club Cercle Brugge (1-0), before drawing against St Gall (1-1) just a few days later. That unbeaten run was prolonged at the club’s training camp in Faro, Portugal.

Monaco first earned a draw in an entertaining, end-to-end game against Austria Vienna, who finished last season third in the Austrian Bundesliga. After falling behind, Guillermo Maripán levelled before Gelson Martins gave them the lead. The Austrian side hit back to level before the break and neither side could break the deadlock in the second-half.

Following consecutive draws, Monaco returned to winning ways against Portimonense. Clement fielded a strong side for the final game of their training camp in Portugal, as the late-returning international players build up their fitness.

Wissam Ben Yedder opened the scoring just before the break before Yossouf Fofana added a late second to make the victory secure.

Special delivery from Japan

The squad’s ranks were also bolstered during their trip to the Iberian peninsula by the arrival of Takumi Minamino. The new €15m signing from Liverpool had “some things to sort out” in Japan before joining up with his new team-mates.

He arrived at the squad’s training camp on Thursday, but understandably didn’t feature in the side’s game versus Portimonense. He has, however, been involved in training with the club. In his first appearance on the club’s social media channels the Japanese international said, “I’m happy to be here and I’m looking forward to experiencing a beautiful season together.”

Stealing a march

Monaco now have four games under their belts. Many Ligue 1 rivals, including champions PSG haven’t even played once. The club has a difficult start to the season, as well as an earlier start than all of their Ligue 1 rivals. Whilst their opponent in the Champions League play-offs hasn’t been confirmed, the draw includes European stalwarts including Benfica and Rangers. Whoever they are pitted against, they will at least face them well prepared.

Along with their early arrival back at the La Turbie training centre, Monaco have further fixtures against Inter Milan, FC Porto and Premier League side Southampton before the start of the season in early August.

Lemarechal makes an impression

Pre-season provides a great chance for many of the youngsters and fringe players to stake their claims for a place in the first-team squad. Few have profited from the opportunity more than young Félix Lemarechal.

The young Frenchman signed his first professional contract with the club in May 2021 and last season made one Ligue 1 appearance and one Coupe de France appearance. He spent the rest of the season playing for Monaco B in the N2, which has since become the “elite group.”

During pre-season he has started three out of four of Monaco’s games and has impressed when placed in a midfield pivot. He looked comfortable alongside Youssouf Fofana, and with the departure of Aurélien Tchouaméni to Real Madrid, there is currently a spot up for grabs.

Lemarechal is currently in competition with Jean Lucas and Eliot Matazo for a starting spot, whilst the former can, and has, played higher up the field. Whilst there are significant rumours linking Monaco with midfield reinforcements such as Leicester’s Boubakary Soumaré and Lille’s Amadou Onana, Lemarechal’s performances have forced his name into the conversation.

It remains very likely that Monaco will bring in midfield reinforcements, but should Lemarechal’s form hold until the end of pre-season, there is no reason why the academy product won’t be in-and-around the first team and accrue many more appearances for the side than he did last season.

Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

Artmonte-carlo: Almine Rech

by: Stephanie Horsman

14/07/2022

A treat is in store for art lovers at the Almine Rech stand at the artmonte-carlo show, with a great mix of emerging and known talent featuring classic media forms as well as new technology.

Artmonte-carlo aims to establish an artistic platform for contemporary art, modern art and contemporary design for the art collectors and lovers on the Côte d’Azur, and its sixth edition is currently on at the Grimaldi Forum from 14^th to 16^th July.

As part of the show, the Almine Rech Gallery is bringing together a selection of multifaceted works from diverse backgrounds, generations and origins.

At their stand they will feature works from artists such as Jean-Baptiste Bernadet, Gordon Cheung, Johan Creten, Jorge Galindo, Mehdi Ghadyanloo, Allen Jones, Leelee Kimmel, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Alexandre Lenoir, Ryan Schneider, Thu Van Tran, Kim Tschang-Yeul, Tursic & Mille, Francesco Vezzoli and Tom Wesselmann.

Additionally, Almine Rech will showcase the work of Italian artist Gioele Amaro. Known as a “master in the art of synthesis”, he combines and blurs the lines between classic media like painting, drawing and photography, with new technologies, capturing the essentials of subjects from real life.

Artmonte-carlo is taking place from 14^th to 16^th July, with an opening vernissage on the 13^th at the Grimaldi Forum. For more information on tickets or the event, visit the dedicated website on https://artmontecarlo.ch/Accueil/

Image: Tomokazu Matsuyama, Lift Spelling Fall Over, 2022

Photos: Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition(iste)

by: Cassandra Tanti

13/07/2022

You don’t have to be a shoe lover to appreciate the brilliance of the Grimaldi Forum’s new summer exhibition. Every inch of the enormous space has been used to transport visitors on a fantastical journey through the mind, and extraordinarily creative career, of the world’s most famous shoe designer, Christian Louboutin.

After the first edition at the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris in 2020, ‘Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition(iste), Chapter II’ opened to the public on Saturday 9th July at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco. The exhibition, redesigned by curator Olivier Gabet, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, is devoted to the work and imagination of Christian Louboutin, a shoe designer and key figure in the world of fashion. It is based around themes that reveal Louboutin’s eclecticism – couture, travel, the extremes of fantasy and innovation.

It is a fun and sophisticated odyssey through 30 years of prolific creativity, a journey in which emotion and expertise intermingle with his love for performance and a sense of humour.

But chapter two of this artistic venture goes one step further in Monaco. Louboutin the designer becomes Louboutin the curator as he showcases carefully selected art works and sculptures, and reveals his friendship with artists.

*Room two of Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition(iste) features huge stained glass windows designed by Louboutin, photo by Monaco Life*

The journey begins in a room bathed in red, before moving onto a church-like space showcasing where it all began for Christian Louboutin. The black room, highlighted by incredible, large stained-glass windows specially designed by Louboutin, features the first shoes that he ever designed and made himself – ingenious, humorous shoes that reveal the boldness of those initial stages of his creative career, and that won clients over at Louboutin’s first boutique in Paris, from Madonna to Princess Caroline of Monaco.

In inventing the red sole, Christian Louboutin found his signature that was to be recognised the world over.

Then, from room to room, visitors are taken on an elaborate journey through the artistic mind of the designer; they are given the opportunity to witness his most iconic creations, chosen from a corpus which today constitutes thousands of designs – some one-offs, others templates for series that would continue for decades.

*The ‘Theatre Room’ is a nod to Paris nightclub Le Palace, photo by Monaco Life*

One room is a veritable treasure chamber, the circular space evoking a catacomb where the designer – who is still very much alive – becomes a deity, immortalised and revered, and sent to the gods surrounded by gold, silver, and his iconic creations. Is the blood splattered cavity with an apocalyptic pair of men’s golden Louboutins a clue as to how he came to his demise?

The journey moves from genius imagination to fantastical reality, where whimsical videos feature a mini-Christian Louboutin following the process of handmade shoe making, before it reaches a charming old granny’s house in a typical British street, in which the knick knacks, upon close inspection, reveal works of photographer Pierre Moliniere (1900-1976), who used to transform himself into a hypersexualised woman.

“This audacious ‘period room’ shows how much the ideas we have about shoes are shaped by projections and suggestions that are often a long way from reality, and sometimes more obvious,” we are told in one of the written guides that accompany each room.

*The ‘Period Room’ is another bizarre journey into the mind of Christian Louboutin, photo by Monaco Life*

The exhibition also reveals Louboutin’s love of music and dance, which he has had from an early age, being a child of the famous Paris nightclub Le Palace. A large number of pieces related to this domain have been brought together within a theatre set that has been specially created by Bhutanese artists in the grounds of the royal palace in Thimphu, including carved wooden elements that Louboutin devised in collaboration with the artisans.

The “imaginary museum” is a personal tribute to the artists and artworks that have been Christian Louboutin’s constant companions since his teenage years, serving as the inspiration for his eclecticism, from queer culture and Gandharan art, to photography and contemporary African art.

The tour ends as it began – a Pop Corridor bathed in red, a “passageway between two worlds”, where portraits of celebrities in music and cinema intertwine with magazine covers, extracts from television shows and social media posts, each serving as a reminder of how much Christian Louboutin’s work has been embraced by the talents of our time, all making his name legendary in contemporary design and fashion culture.

Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition(iste) is open at the Grimaldi Forum until 28^th August.

Click on the gallery below for more pictures of Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition(iste)…