Hat-trick hero Volland helps Monaco secure European qualification

03/11/2022

Kevin Volland scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory for AS Monaco against Red Star Belgrade at the Stade Louis II on Thursday, ensuring their progression to the knockout stages.

Prior to the clash against Red Star, dubbed a “final,” Monaco manager Philippe Clement said that it was important not to “calculate” and think about the different scenarios that could play out on the night. Whatever happened elsewhere, a win for Monaco was enough to send them through to the knockout stages of the Europa League for consecutive seasons.

It was immediately clear that Clement’s players had received the message. They immediately sought to put Red Star under pressure, and the pressure quickly told.

Caio Henrique’s sumptuous, pin-point delivery was met perfectly by the head of Kevin Volland, who nodded into an empty net with the goalkeeper caught in no man’s land.

A flurry of half-chances followed, Krépin Diatta had a shot saved, whilst Wissam Ben Yedder had the ball in the back of the net, only for the offside flag to deny the Frenchman.

The lead was doubled, and it was Volland again with the finish. Found on the edge of the box, his curling effort nestled into the bottom corner, the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

There was no let-up after the break. Aleksandr Golovin, arguably Monaco’s most consistent and improved player this season, dribbled around the Red Star defence, before putting a shot across goal, which was diverted into the goal by the recovering Milan Rodić.

A rash Benoît Badiashile challenge in the box gave Red Star an unlikely route back into the match with Guélor Kanga stepping up to convert the resulting penalty. The Serbian side almost got a second, but VAR ruled out Aleksandar Pesić’s sliding finish.

After the Red Star scare, Monaco shored up their defence and thereafter looked unthreatened. The night was perfectly capped by Volland who secured his hat trick in the latter stages, his first in Monaco colours.

Clement’s comments

“There were those who said my team had problems in big matches. I’m happy my team showed otherwise. They were ready, and started with a good tempo, created chances, and played collectively and with aggression. The first half was very good, one of the best first halves during my time as manager here,” said Clement post-match.

He was also happy with his side’s mentality after conceding the goal that gave Red Star an unlikely route back into the match. “It was dangerous at this moment. We continued to play to score goals and create chances. It’s important with a young squad, who have received setbacks in the past months, to show that they have grown. I see a team that is growing every week,” Clement told Monaco Life.

Man of the match – Kevin Volland

The German has been a support act for much of the season so far, playing second-fiddle to Breel Embolo, who has hit the ground running. However, Volland made his case to start more regularly on Thursday. He met Henrique’s pin-point cross well, before doubling his account on the night with a technically adept, curling finish from the edge of the box.

His return to form is potentially pivotal not only for club, but also for country. Timo Werner’s injury gives Volland a glimmer of hope of making Germany’s World Cup squad. His performance against Red Star will certainly have caught the attention of his Hansi Flick.

Monaco next face Toulouse in Ligue 1 on Sunday in the penultimate match before the World Cup break.

Photo by AS Monaco

New reef to reinforce Cala del Forte port

by: Stephanie Horsman

03/11/2022

The new Cala del Forte port, located in Ventimiglia and servicing the Principality, is undergoing renovations to lessen the impact on moored boaters who have reported excessive movements in port.

Cala del Forte is owned by Monaco Ports and was officially inaugurated in July 2021. After complaints from users, work began on creating an artificial reef on 19^th October to lessen the effects of wind and tidal shifts on moored boats.

“The port of Cala del Forte will benefit from the protection offered by the ‘banana’ (shape of the reef), since it will make it possible to remedy the agitations of discomfort observed in the event of gusts of wind from the southwest,” says Aleco Keusseoglou, President of the Monegasque international port company (SMIP), in a press release.

Works began when the first barge full of rocks arrived on the scene, weighing some 8,000 tons. This will be the base of the reef, with the total cost coming in at about €4.7 million, which will be used to construct a coastal protector 120 metres long at a depth of seven or eight metres.

The emerged section will be four metres high with an embankment. In total, the site will require 120,000 tons of rocks and stones.

Said Keusseoglou of the materials’ origins, “Two thirds of the materials will come from quarries in the Trapani region (Sicily), and the remaining third, which will constitute the emerged part of the reef, will be made up of blocks from local quarries (Bevera), as required by landscape regulations.”

Additionally, an environmental aspect has been taken into account says the SMIP: “There will be no negative impact on the environment, because the use of any element other than the planned blocks made of inert stone material of natural origin is banned.”

SEE ALSO:

The ribbon is cut at Cala del Forte

Photo source: Cala del Forte

New Malizia-Seaexplorer to take on Route du Rhum 2022

by: Cassandra Tanti

03/11/2022

Two Yacht Club of Monaco members, amateur Oren Nataf and professional Boris Herrmann, are about to join 136 other sailors for the 12th solo transatlantic Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe race, which kicks off on 6th November from Saint-Malo, France.

Frenchman Oren Nataf will be on his trimaran Rayon Vert in the Rhum Multi category, and German Boris Herrmann at the helm of his new IMOCA Malizia-Seaexplorer.

The Route du Rhum solo transatlantic race was created in 1978 and has become legendary because of its unique blend of different classes and its mix of competitors. Some of the best solo racers in the world of sailing, professionals and amateurs, meet every four years to taste “the magic of the Rhum”.

“We are so proud to see two of our members competing in the Route du Rhum solo transatlantic race,” said Yacht Club of Monaco Vice-President Pierre Casiraghi. “Both have a different approach: for Oren, an amateur, this will be his first solo transat, and for Boris, a professional skipper, it’s his second Rhum. Two different personalities but driven by the same passion and determination to complete the 3,543 nautical mile course (6,562 kilometers) and realise their dreams.”

*Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Herrmann on Malizia-Seaexplorere in Bretagne, photo credit: @antoineauriol*

Pierre Casiraghi, founder of Team Malizia, had his first sail of the new Malizia–Seaexplorer in Bretagne on Wednesday with Herrmann. The 18-month project took 5,000 design hours and 45,000 man hours to build, involving over 250 people.

The Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe race will set off on Sunday 6th November with all racers starting at the same time, on a single starting line. The first in each class to cross the finish line in Guadeloupe wins.

SEE ALSO:

Monaco’s Team Malizia launches new IMOCA racing boat

Photo above credit: @antoineauriol

Before, After & Brunch: extending Jazz Festival fun

by: Stephanie Horsman

03/11/2022

With the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival fast approaching, organisers have created a series of exclusive side events to extend the celebrations before and after its showstopping performances.

Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) takes giving their guests a good time extremely seriously, and as part of the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival that begins on 9th November, SBM has put together a line-up called Before, After & Brunch to keep the party going.

To kick it all off, there will be a ‘Before’ event at the Hôtel Hermitage’s Crystal Bar on 23rd and 24th November with Estelle Perrault accompanied by pianist Mark Priore. Perrault, the French-Taiwanese chanteuse whose inspirations include greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, has the voice of an angel and songs that are filled with the nostalgia of jazz’s 1930s heyday.

Then on 24th and 25th November, head to the Blue Gin at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort for an ‘After’ show with the Baptiste Herbin Quartet. Herbin, called the most flamboyant alto saxophonist in Europe, he has four hit studio albums under his belt. He will be joined by a select group of musicians to take audiences into the wee hours.

Head back to the Crystal Bar at the Hotel Hermitage for a ‘Before’ session with Julie Erikssen on 30th November and 1st through to 3rd December. A ‘Brunch’ will take place at the Blue Bay in the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort on 4th December. Erikssen is a songwriter as well as a singer, guitarist and pianist whose blend of jazz and folk with a Celtic tinge is both haunting and beautiful.

On 2nd and 3rd December, the Blue Gin will host an ‘After’ concert by the Jeanne Michard Quartet. Michard was a child prodigy who picked up a sax at the age of seven and never looked back. Her 1940s and 1950s-influenced jazz is reminiscent of greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Finally, from 28th November to 11th December, Cinda Ramseur and the I Love You Group Quintet will be playing at the Bar Américain of the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. Cinda’s dreams of a musical career started at the tender age of four. She went on to perform in Hollywood and on Broadway, an even taking part in The Lion King. Now her dulcet voice is coming to Monaco.

For more info and to reserve spaces, visit the website: www.montecarlosbm.com.

Photo source: SBM

Europe heating up at twice global rate

by: Stephanie Horsman

03/11/2022

Temperatures in Europe have increased by more than two times the global rate in the past three decades, according to an alarming report put out by the World Meteorological Organization. In a climate paradox, however, floods and storms are causing the most economic damage.

The extreme weather seen in Europe during the past few years is unlikely to end any time soon. High summer heat, wildfires, droughts and floods are going to become norm rather than exception, says an alarming report by experts at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which has identified a warming trend that is more than double the worldwide average.

“The State of the Climate in Europe” report, produced jointly with the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, found that Europe has warmed at an average rate of 0.5ºC per decade over the last 30 years. This means that alpine glaciers lost roughly 30 metres of ice thickness between 1997 and 2021.

“European society is vulnerable”

“Europe presents a live picture of a warming world and reminds us that even well-prepared societies are not safe from the impacts of extreme weather events,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

In 2021, weather and climate events led to hundreds of fatalities, directly affected more than half a million people and caused damage in excess of 51 billion euros. About 84% of these events were floods or storms.

But the report isn’t all doom and gloom. Several European nations have been slashing greenhouse gas emissions, with the EU seeing a 31% decrease between 1990 and 2020. The aim is to reduce even further, with a target of 55% reduction by 2030.

Europe is also one of the most advanced regions in cross-border cooperation in climate change adaptation, notably when it comes to transnational river basins. It is one of the world leaders in providing effective early warning systems, with about 75% of people protected.

There are valid reasons why Europe has warmed more quickly than other parts of the globe. It has a high percentage of land mass, which warms faster than sea. The Arctic and more generally the high northern latitudes are the areas seeing the fastest warming globally and a large part of Europe resides in these northern locations.

“European society is vulnerable to climate variability and change, but Europe is also at the forefront of the international effort to mitigate climate change and to develop innovative solutions to adapt to the new climate Europeans will have to live with,” said Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service, European Centre of Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

Photo source: Johnathan Ford for Unsplash

New residency permit to ease labour shortage

by: Elsa Carpenter

03/11/2022

The French government is considering the creation of a new titre de séjour that will ease foreigners’ rights to work in France, including Britons, and specifically target sectors that are struggling to fill vacancies.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Employment Minister Olivier Dussopt have put forward plans to introduce a new type of residency permit in 2023. The proposed permit, which forms part of a draft bill on immigration, is linked to “métiers en tension” or industries experiencing a shortfall in labour.

A list of the sectors with a worker shortage is expected to be drawn up region by region, but will no doubt include hospitality, which currently has 500,000 empty posts in France, according to Adecco.

Darmanin and Dussopt’s plans also include an overhaul of asylum seekers’ rights to work whilst waiting for their refugee status to be approved. Currently, asylum seekers cannot work until their request for asylum goes through.

“We are going to facilitate this,” Dussopt told French media, “[as well as] the renewal of residence permits: an immigrant who works and who does not commit any criminal acts will see their permit automatically renewed without having to go to the prefecture, as is the case today.”

The ministers also noted a desire to toughen sanctions against business owners who employ undocumented workers, going beyond fixed fines and penalties to “consider the possibility of administratively closely [these] companies”.

The process from residency and work permit application to approval is often long-winded in France, taking an average of six months. It is hoped that these proposed reforms will speed up the process and free up great numbers of potential workers.

If the proposals are accepted, it could mean the issuing of tens of thousands of new residency permits for citizens from outside the EU, including Britons, who are still feeling the effects of Brexit.

Photo source: Chuttersnap

Day: 3 November 2022