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Month: February 2023

Axel Disasi gives Monaco upper hand in Europa League classic

by: Luke Entwistle
17/02/2023

A long-range stunner from an unlikely source, Axel Disasi, in injury time against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday gives AS Monaco a slender lead (2-3) ahead of the second leg.

Les Monégasques got off to a flier against their German opponents at the BayArena. Under pressure from Breel Embolo, goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky put the ball into his own net to give Monaco the lead. 

However, on the return from the dressing room, Philippe Clement’s men were pegged back. Moussa Diaby got the equaliser before Florian Wirtz gave Xabi Alonso’s side the advantage. 

In this topsy-turvy tie, Monaco would have the last laugh. Krépin Diatta restored parity with a brilliant finish. Both sides looked to be heading back to the Stade Louis II honours even, but captain Disasi stepped up in injury time, scoring the winner to send the 500 travelling fans into pandemonium. 

“I’m very happy because we’ve passed a milestone. We managed to react having been behind,” said Clement post-match, who added that the motion of Disasi’s winner may have been “the most beautiful” since his arrival at Monaco. 

Les Monégasques have a trip to Stade Brestois on Sunday before attempting to see out the job against Leverkusen at the Louis II next Thursday. 

 

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Photo by AS Monaco

How does Monaco’s pension system compare to France?

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/02/2023

With the backlash over France’s pension reforms making headlines, we take a closer look at the Principality’s retirement scheme to see if reforms are on the horizon for Monaco as well.

Every week in France, the country’s biggest unions and workers take to the streets in protest over President Emmanuel Macron’s changes to the pension system, which will raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.

In addition, people will need to have worked for at least 43 years to get a full pension, starting from 2027. According to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, “By 2030, our system will be financially balanced.”

So, what’s the situation in neighbouring Monaco?

As it turns out, Monaco’s pension programme is solid and reasonable, offering retirees several options on how and when to start the post-work chapter of their lives.

The official legal age for retirement in Monaco is 65. That being said, pensions can start to be drawn earlier without deduction, and there is even the possibility of an increase once the pensioner turns 65.

For people looking to stop work a bit sooner, early retirement is possible and broken up in to two categories: those wishing to stop work at age 55 and those wishing to retire between the ages of 60 and 65.

The option for the 55- 60-years group is limited to mothers who have raised at least three children for a minimum of eight years. For those between 60 and 65, it is open to anyone in this age range who is ready to stop or decrease activity.

Once hitting the legal retirement age, workers receive a pension based on the number of points acquired during their work life up until the eve of their 65th birthday, but pensions are paid out even to those who stay on at work, though in these cases, they will still need to pay into the system as before and will not be acquiring new points.

The pension is increased by 1.5% per full quarter, though, between the person’s 65th birthday and their chosen retirement date. These hikes stop at the age of 70, but still, that gives these workers an overall max increase of 30% and doesn’t penalise, but actually rewards, people for wanting to stay in the workforce longer.

The Principality’s rules on who gets a pension are pretty lenient, stating that employees have to have worked in Monaco for at least 10 years. During that decade, the applicant must have worked a minimum total of 60 months. The guidelines aren’t terribly stringent, showing yet more consideration toward workers in the system.

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Photo credit: Braňo on Unsplash

 

Save the date: Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo dances through to summer

by: Elsa Carpenter
17/02/2023
les ballets de monte-carlo

From appearances by Prima Ballerina Olga Smirnova to a series of international tours and the L’Été Danse! festival featuring the best of Monaco’s cultural institutions, the coming months offer a stellar programme by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.  

First up is a trip to Bari, Italy and the Teatro Petruzzelli from 9th to 12th March for four nights of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Lac. This story takes its heart from Swan Lake, but interwinds the myths and legends of Greece, Scandinavia and Russia to retell this classic from the ballet world. Later in the spring, from 17th to 21st May, the dancers will head to Venice for another series of Lac at Teatro La Fenice.  

It is the turn of Toulon to host Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo at the very end of the month, 31st March, for a performance of Romeo & Juliette at the Opéra de Toulon. 

The troupe returns home and to the Grimaldi Forum from 26th to 30th April, where Prima Ballerina Olga Smirnova takes the title role of La Belle alongside the dancers of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.  

“Through his aesthetic and ferocious interpretation of Perrault’s tale, Jean-Christophe Maillot has imagined a ballet directly channelling our childhood fears and sexual awakening,” says the company. “The choreographer in particular makes us aware of the second – often overlooked – part of Perrault’s tale: after her marriage to the prince, La Belle, who has become Queen, and her children are threatened by her stepmother, the Ogress Carabosse.” 

Just over the border in Nice and the Théâtre La Cuisine from 25th to 27th May, the troupe will perform Noces & Opus 40, a favourite of the Principality.  

The Académie Princesse Grace launch the L’Été Danse! season on 23rd and 24th June with its popular gala at the Salle Garnier in Monaco. 

“This show, offering several choreographic styles, is the culmination of a year of work for the students and the teaching team,” explains Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. “Various choreographers will be invited to imagine a piece based on “Studies” written by various composers, a focus theme for the Academy this year.” 

This festival season continues from 28th June to 1st July at the Grimaldi Forum with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo offering a Stravinsky programme featuring two world premieres: Jeroen Verbruggen, a regular guest choreographer for the company, will revisit Pulcinella in his “provocative and explosive style”; and Goyo Montero returns with a “Firebird” experience.  

The highlight of the season will be the F(ê)aites de la Danse! on 8th and 9th July, when the Place du Casino is transformed into a gigantic open-air dance floor. Expect hundreds of artists, from “virtuoso musicians” to dancers of all artistic style, to fill the Golden Triangle and draw spectators in… To dance themselves!  

And finally, from 18th to 21st July, Cendrillon is to be performed in the Salle Garnier almost 25 years on from the birth of this spellbinding ballet.  

For more information and tickets, please click here.  

   

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3,000 security jobs at the Paris Olympics up for grabs

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/02/2023
paris olympics

As we inch closer to the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, organisers are on the hunt for 3,000 student candidates to fill security positions, with perks like paid training being part of the deal.  

Having ‘security agent at the 2024 Olympic Games’ on a CV would certainly make a person stand out, and for 3,000 lucky student candidates, that is exactly what they will have.  

Organisers of the Olympic and Paralympic Games are recruiting security officers to carry out access controls and general safety posts at Olympic sites, including the Olympic village, media centres and VIP areas.  

Applicants must follow a 106-hour paid training course offered by the Pôle Emploi, consisting of two weeks of face-to-face study and a third week of remote training. Completion of the course allows the applicant to obtain a professional card valid until October 2025, which is required for security agents working at events of more than 300 people.  

Being part of the biggest event ever organised in France – an estimated 15 million spectators will flood the city – comes with some perks. In addition to the free training, selected candidates will have access to the Games and be able to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event from the inside.  

Additionally, after the Olympics are over, the professional card will still be valid for more than a year, opening the door to other security-related opportunities at sporting matches, concerts and festivals.  

For more information or to sign up for the course visit here. 

    

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Photo source: Unsplash

2022 weather review: extreme heat and drought are the new norm for Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/02/2023
weather monaco

The year 2022 was marked by successive heat waves, record temperatures and 30% less rainfall, according to a new IMSEE report, sparking fears of a dangerous transition into unchartered territory.  

The report just released by Monaco statistics agency IMSEE shows a year marked by higher-than-usual average temperatures and significant rainfall deficits.  

Tracking by scientists has shown that the trend over the past 50 years has been heat increasing with each consecutive decade and last year was no exception, with the overall average temperature being 1.4ºC hotter than normal. The year-round average now sits at 18.2ºC.  

More notable perhaps is the fact that not a single day dropped below freezing in 2022, with the minimum temperature the mildest ever recorded at 5.3ºC, and the average minimum sitting at a balmy 15.6ºC. 

Temperatures were above average from May to September, with the hottest day of last year, 20th July, reaching 35.1ºC. Two major heatwaves punctuated the summer from 17th to 21st July then again on its heels from 30th July to 10th August. During these two periods, the minimum temperatures were a toasty 25.9ºC and 24.9ºC, with daytime temperatures regularly over the 31ºC mark.  

Three months saw lower temperatures than 2021 – February, March and September – but they were only very slightly lower, being 0.1ºC, 0.4ºC and 0.3ºC respectively.  

2022 was also a particularly dry year, with only 476mm of rainfall compared to the norm of 794mm, making it the fourth driest year on record. Rainy days were also significantly less. There were 20 less days with rainfall than to be expected considering averages gleaned over the past three decades. Rainfall totals were less as well, with the maximum of any rainy day only seeing 46mm, three times less than the previous decade averages.  

Finally, sunshine prevailed last year, with 7.26 hours of sun per day, compared to 6.97 the previous year, and a cumulative 2,650 hours in total.  

 

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Photo by Monaco Life

Podcast: This Week in Monaco 16th February

by: Cassandra Tanti
16/02/2023

The Monaco Life journalists behind the headlines this week talk Carnival fever in the French Riviera, Monaco hits historically high temps, Nice lands UN Ocean Conference, parents get screen time guidance, Monaco’s new vintage bar Maona, and pension strikes roll on.

To listen to the podcast, click play below.