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Month: January 2023

Monaco’s Davis Cup opponent revealed

by: Luke Entwistle
04/01/2023

Monaco will face the Dominican Republic in a Davis Cup World Group II play-off at the Monte-Carlo Country Club at the beginning of February, it has been announced.

The tie will take place across two days – 4th and 5th February – at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (MCCC) in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and the Monégasques will be cheered on by a home crowd for the fixture, with the event being open to the public.

It is the first time that the two sides have met. They face off in a play-off tie that has ramifications for the fixtures later this year. Should Monaco win, they would be fully integrated into the World Group II, with matches within this group set to be played in September of this year.

The two-day event will consist of four singles matches and one doubles match. The players that will form Monaco’s squad for the Davis Cup match are yet to be revealed.

Monaco saw their chances of promotion from the World Group II dashed against Lebanon in September 2022. A team consisting of Valentin Vacherot, Lucas Caterina, Hugo Nys and Romain Arneodo lost 3-2 on the hard court of Zouk Mosbeh. They will now fight for their survival in the group next month.

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Photo by Monaco Life

Dubai ditches 30% tax on alcohol

by: Stephanie Horsman
04/01/2023

In a move that is sure to attract international attention, Dubai has announced it is scrapping a 30% tax on alcohol, and will no longer require tourists and expats to buy permits to purchase alcoholic beverages.

In an effort to increase its popularity as a destination and attract more foreign workers, on Sunday 1st January, Dubai decided to end its 30% tax on alcohol. A one-year trial period of the new rules will now take place before becoming permanent, according to domestic media, although the official Media Office of Dubai has yet to comment publicly.

Two of the United Arab Emirates city’s major retailers have dropped prices to reflect the new decision, with one, the state-owned Maritime and Mercantile International (MMI), announcing via its Instagram account: “Buying your favorite drinks is now easier and cheaper than ever.”

African + Eastern, another local retailer, said on its Instagram page that it was now offering personal liquor licenses at zero cost after the removal of the tax.

Other rules will remain in place, including the requirement that people consuming alcohol be over the age of 21 and non-Muslim.

The city has rebounded spectacularly after Covid-19, with gross domestic product growing by 4.6% in the first nine months of 2022. Additionally, tourist numbers leapt by over 180% in the first half of 2022 compared to a year earlier.

 

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Photo source: Robert Bock for Unsplash

 

Covid-19 latest: all figures fell over festive week, including testing

by: Cassandra Tanti
04/01/2023

Monaco recorded 40 new cases of Covid-19 over the Christmas to New Year period, the smallest number in weeks, while testing was also unsurprisingly low over the festive period.

According to the government’s weekly health figures, 765 PCR and antigen tests were taken in the Principality in the week from 26th December to 1st January, almost half that of the previous week.

But circulation of the virus is continuing its downward trend, with only 11.4% of those tests coming back positive, and the incidence rate falling to 102, compared to 171 the previous week.

Only 11 people are currently being treated at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre for Covid, seven of whom are residents – around a third of the number seen at the start of December.

Ahead of the Christmas and New Year period, the Monaco Government had encouraged everyone to get tested and follow health protocols to protect the most vulnerable in the community.

Figures next week will show whether the busy festive period boosts the number of Covid cases, although it is clear that less people are getting tested for the virus now than in previous years.

The French Government is also warning that its Covid figures should be taken with caution from November 2022 because some private laboratories have stopped sharing their information with health authorities and are therefore underestimations.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, the incidence rate is currently 197 and the positivity rate is 15%.

 

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SEE ALSO:

Covid latest: Winter cases fall as Omicron variant proves less deadly

 

Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life

Yoshi to host exclusive sake pairing experience

by: Stephanie Horsman
04/01/2023

The only Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant on the Côte d’Azur is coming together with IWA5 Sake, created by master of the trade Richard Geoffrey, for a unique sake tasting experience in Monaco’s Hotel Metropole.

The hotel’s celebrated Yoshi restaurant has made a name for itself thanks to its exceptional Japanese cuisine and taste for offering genuine experiences, such as the exclusive evening of delicious food paired with the sacred spirit of sake that will take place on 18th January.

At the event, a tasting menu by chef Takeo Yamazaki (pictured with fellow Hotel Metropole chef Christophe Cussac) will be served alongside hot and cold sake choices from IWA5 Sake. 

The dishes include San Remo-style gamberoni, scallops in seared butter, crab meatballs in chicken broth, Wagyu beef and, of course, sushi and sashimi. Dessert will be candied apple with yuzu light cream and vanilla. 

IWA5 Sake was created in Toyoma, Japan, by the former cellar master of Dom Pérignon, Richard Geoffroy, who will be on hand at the event to help guests discover the nuances of this popular drink as well as to share his own personal knowledge and passion on the topic. 

When asked about the name, he explains that IWA comes from the brewery, Shiraiwa. 

“Five is a number that represents harmony, the five senses… To me, it means assembly,” says Geoffrey. “My pride in this approach is not only to create an assembly of sakes, but also of people. It’s a new quest for harmony.”

Sake is a unique beverage. Often misclassified as a wine, it is actually a brewed drink where starch from rice is converted into sugars and then fermented into alcohol, making it more like beer. It has a vast variety of tastes and can be sparkling, sweet, nutty or aged.

The experience costs €390 per person and reservations must be made via yoshi@metropole.com.

 

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Photo source: Hotel Metropole

 

Monaco gears up for month of rallying

by: Luke Entwistle
03/01/2023

The Monte-Carlo Rally and the Historic Monte-Carlo Rally return to the streets of the Principality later this month, kickstarting Monaco’s packed sporting schedule in 2023.

A fortnight of racing begins on 16th January with the Grand Départ of the 91st edition of the Monte-Carlo Rally, which launches the World Rally Car (WRC) season. Beginning in Saint-Agnès, the highest coastal village in Europe, the grid will, over the course of a week of intense racing, make their way through the Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region.

The challenge itself has been heavily modified for the latest edition, with 50% of the itinerary different to last year. However, it will conclude in traditional fashion: with the competitors crossing the line in Monaco on Sunday afternoon before the podium ceremony in Casino Square. The professionals in the event will have their eyes on the top prize and will look to follow in the slipstream of the great Sebastien Loeb, who won last year’s event.

Motorsport fans will then need to wait just two days before getting their next fix of racing action.

An event for amateurs, participants of the 25th edition of the Historic Monte-Carlo Rally will begin their journey from five different destinations, all of which are classic courses on the WRC calendar. Over the course of a week, iconic cars of the past will make their way from Bad Homburg, Oslo, London, Turin and Reims to Monaco.

Arriving in Monaco on 27th January, the grid will then tackle multiple challenges on the tricky mountain roads of the surrounding region. They will then return to Monaco on 1st January, where the successors to last year’s winners, Philippe and Antoine Cornet de Ways Ruart, will be crowned in a ceremony in the Salle des Etoiles.

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Photo credit: PushingPace

New Crit’Air rules and the sticker scam to avoid

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/01/2023

Starting this year, vehicles in Nice with Crit’Air stickers 4 and 5 will be prevented from entering the city centre, upping the eco ante for commercial drivers using diesel cars and trucks pre-dating 2000.

Since 1st January 2022, the most polluting commercial and professional vehicles have been banned from driving in Nice’s city centre as a way to keep pollution levels down.

At the time, all commercial vehicles were issued a Crit’Air sticker to be affixed in their vehicles, with the Crit’Air 5 label being the worst. Now the city is expanding its anti-pollution fight to those who have Crit’Air 4 stickers. These newly restricted vehicles are primarily pre-2000 diesels, which are said to concern roughly 300 trucks.

The area of the city involved runs from the Promenade des Anglais to the south, the Voie Mathis to the north, Carabacel/Désambrois to the east and Boulevard Grosso to the west. Entering this zone with a Crit’Air 4 or 5 sticker, or without one at all, commands a fine of up to €450 euros, though the usual ticket issued is €68.

As reported by Monaco Life in 2022, the Crit’Air system is best described as an air quality certificate that classifies vehicles as “green” for all electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, or on a sliding scale of 1 through to 5 according to the “fine particles and levels of nitrogen oxide that they emit” for other types. They are obligatory for all vehicles in designated low emission zones, such as the city centre of Nice, but can be applied to additional areas if local authorities decide to introduce emissions-based traffic restrictions during periods of high pollution.

Alongside with the new rules, a new scam has been circulating, with numerous people reportedly receiving the text message: “Crit’Air: our agents have found that your vehicle did not have the Crit’Air 2022 regulatory sticker. Please recover it under penalty of a fine within the next 48 hours.” There is an accompanying link that directs unsuspecting users to a fake site to obtain the sticker.

The French government is now reminding people that the only way to obtain the sticker is via the official website of www.certificat-air.gouv.fr at a cost of €3.70.

Those who receive a fraudulent message are advised not to reply and to report any emails to “Signal Spam” or to 33 700 for text messages.

 

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Photo source: Mitchel Willem Jacob for Unsplash