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Month: December 2022

Dominant Roca Team finish 2023 top of the Betclic Elite

by: Luke Entwistle
28/12/2022

AS Monaco Basketball finished the calendar year on a high with a resounding 53-97 win over Fos-Sur-Mer on Tuesday, which secures top spot in the Betclic Elite heading into 2023.

The victory on the Palais des Sports court was never in doubt. Despite a much-changed side, led by Matthew Strazel (15 points, seven assists), the Roca Team quickly grasped the reigns of the match, scoring 32 points in the opening quarter.

With Mike James playing a reduced role with the Euroleague game against Zalgiris coming up on Thursday, other players stepped in. Co-captain Adrien Moerman (10 points), who has struggled for fluency since arriving in the Principality, Yakuba Outtara (14 points) and Yoan Makoundou (13 points) were all-prominent in a French-led offensive effort.

Fos-sur-Mer never had the answers to respond to the Monégasque attack, nor could they unlock a tight Roca Team defence, which conceded just 53 points on the night. Monaco ran riot in the final-quarter against a demoralised Fos-sur-Mer (12-31), on their way to one of the more comfortable victories of the season.

The result means that Monaco will finish 2022 top of the Betclic Elite with 12 wins in 15 games. They are one win ahead of second-placed Boulogne-Levallois.

Sasa Obradovic’s men will be looking to register one final victory in 2022 when Zalgiris visit the Salle Gaston Médecin on Thursday, where, if other results go Monaco’s way, they could theoretically also finish the year as outright leaders of the Euroleague.

 

 

Photo by AS Monaco Basketball 

Eat out, chuck out era comes to an end in Monaco

by: Elsa Carpenter
27/12/2022

At the turn of the New Year, Monaco is bringing in a number of “zero waste” measures that will help the Principality phase out single-use materials by 2030.

As part of its wide-reaching “zero waste” policy, two regulations will come into play on 1st January 2023.

The first pertains to eateries hosting customers on their premises, such as cafés and restaurants, who must serve all meals on reusable dishes under the new rules.

The second limits the printing of paper sales and bank card receipts unless customers explicitly ask for a copy.

Via an official communiqué, the government says, “The measures will strengthen the arsenal of regulations that the Prince’s Government has been gradually building as part of the Waste Prevention and Management Plan for Monaco 2030. The regulations apply to the plastic products that are most responsible for waste found in the environment, including at sea, and that can be easily replaced with more eco-friendly options.”

These two initiatives supplement other measures that have entered into daily life in the Principality over the last two years, including the requirement for employers with a cafeteria to make reusable dishes available for their employees as well as boxes so that meals can be taken away. Additionally, all takeaway customers reserve the right to be served using their own reusable containers and a ban on routinely supplying disposable cutlery free of charge for takeaway food has been implemented. Disposable cutlery should now be paid for and is exclusively supplied on request.

Monaco has also banned so-called “meal deals” that include a drink in an effort to avoid encouraging customers to purchase drinks packaged in single-use containers.

Another element is the MaConsigne returns system for takeaway containers, which hopes to gradually help eliminate the use of disposable packaging.

Checks on the many hundreds of restaurants, cafés, shops and boutiques that fall under the new rules will be routinely carried out from the New Year to ensure that “all regulations relating to waste are being properly implemented”.

 

 

Photo source: Carli Jeen for Unsplash

Herculis 2023 programme revealed

by: Luke Entwistle
27/12/2022

The 2023 edition of Herculis, the annual Diamond League meeting in the Principality of Monaco, will take place on 21st July 2023, and will once again welcome the world’s most elite athletes. 

Herculis has been rated as the best meeting on the calendar on seven occasions, and the fans will once again pack the stands of the Stade Louis II for the event in 2023. Moved from August to late July, the latest edition of the elite athletics event is sure to bring the greatest athletes in the world to the Principality.

As well as the date of the event, the disciplines on show have also been revealed by the Diamond League. In the Women’s categories, there will be 200, 400 and 1,500-metre races as well as a 100-metre hurdles event. There will also be a high jump and a long jump.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lit up the track in Monaco in the 100m competition earlier this year, blowing away the competition, and while that event won’t be on the itinerary in 2023, the Jamaican sprinter could nonetheless return to compete in the 200m event.

In the Men’s categories, there will be 100, 800 and 5,000-metre races. There will also be a 3,000-metre steeple chase and a 400-metre hurdles race. There will also be plenty of action off the track, with pole vault, triple jump and javelin throw events all on show as well.

Noah Lyles took gold in the Men’s 200m last year, before going on to beat Usain Bolt’s record in the discipline just over a month later. He will have the chance to better his personal best of 9.86 seconds in the 100m on the iconic Monegasque track next July, in what promises to be another enthralling night of athletics at the Stade Louis II.

 

Photo by Monaco Life

 

 

The Attallah Cross: Sotheby’s set to auction rare favourite of Princess Diana

by: Jessica Tatam
27/12/2022

Sotheby’s London has announced the sale of one of Princess Diana’s “favourite jewellery pieces”, a cross that was exclusively worn by the late royal and has never been seen in public since her death, until now.

The Attallah Cross, a stunning, one-off period piece from the 1920s, was said to be a favourite item of Princess Diana and, in a rarely-seen offering of an item belonging to the princess, it is expected to reach a sale price of up to £120,000 at the ‘Royal and Noble Sale’ by Sotheby’s London.

The 1980’s saw the dramatic evolution of ‘The People’s Princess’ from a shy and introverted young girl into a confident and stylish woman in her own right. Worn by Diana on several occasions, the Attallah Cross is a bold and statement-making piece of jewellery, symbolic of Diana’s personal metamorphosis at this time.

In its announcement of the sale, Sotheby’s London said it was confident that this “colourful, bold and distinctive” item of the late princess is sure to attract “a wide variety of bidders, including royal and noble jewellery collectors, as well as fans of the Princess keen to share part of her history.”

The sizable pendant, a one-off creation by court jewellers Garrard, is made up of square-cut amethysts accented by 5.25 carats of circular-cut diamonds, and measures approximately 136 x 95mm. Ramsay Attallah, current owner of the cross, spoke about the friendship between his father and Princess Diana, recalling that she “really loved the piece” and “would ask to borrow the pendant on several occasions”. Adding a further air of exclusivity to the sale is Sotheby’s claim that no one but Princess Diana has ever worn the pendant, stating: “It is understood that the cross was only ever worn by the Princess, and following her death, it was never seen in public again, until now”.

The Sotheby’s ‘Royal and Noble Sale’, led by the Attallah Cross and presenting “an eclectic collection of outstanding objects and sumptuous heirlooms with aristocratic provenance” will be exhibiting the lots for sale at Sotheby’s London between January 12th and 18th. Bidding is exclusively online at www.sothebys.com and open from January 6th until January 18th 2023.

 

 

Photo: Princess Diana at the Birthright charity event wearing the Attallah cross, source Sotheby’s

 

 

Summer tourist numbers in France surpass pre-Covid 2019 levels

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/12/2022

Tourists spent a total of 322 million nights in France from April to September this year, 2.4% more than in 2019 before Covid-19 forced the world into travel restrictions. 

According to the French National Institute for Statistics (INSEE), the majority of tourists were French residents, with an increase in this group of 5.3% compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the end of the summer season saw a gradual return of international visitors, but figures overall were down by 4.2%.

The recovery was strong in campsites, but slightly less in other accommodation including hotels. The number of overnights surged in the top-of-the-range facilities.

“Tourist numbers have increased in most of the metropolitan regions. Only the Île-de-France and the Grand Est have not returned to their pre-crisis levels. The coastline was the main beneficiary of the recovery in visitor numbers, particularly the northern and Normandy coasts,” INSEE said in a statement.

Photo: Lake Annecy, France, by Monaco Life

Former Archbishop of Monaco suffers heart attack

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/12/2022

Monsignor Bernard Barsi, who served as Archbishop of Monaco for 20 years, is in a serious condition in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest on Christmas eve.

The 80-year-old is in an induced coma at the L’Archet Hospital in Nice where he remains in a critical condition.

Monsignor Barsi was born in Nice and served in the city as well as La Trinité. He was consecrated Archbishop of Monaco on 8th October 2000 and officiated at the funeral of Prince Rainier III in April 2005, and presided over the wedding of Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock in July 2011.

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 21st January 2020.

 

Photo source: Diocese of Monaco