One of the more eclectic festivals of the Côte d’Azur, the Fête du Citron in Menton really is something to be seen to be appreciated. It kicks off this weekend.
Thousands of the region’s prized citrus fruits are brought into Menton by the lorry-load ahead of the annual Fête du Citron, which begins on Saturday 11th and runs until Sunday 26th February this year. They’re destined for an immense display of gigantic structures erected around the town as well as a parade of floats that tours Menton’s boulevards and avenues during the festival.
The theme this year is ‘Rock and Opera’ so expect icons from the musical world, such as Elvis Presley, to feature in the display in the Biovès Gardens. Various parades and concerts in line with the theme are scheduled over the course of the two weeks, including the Trio of Legends night honouring all-time French favourites Johnny Vegas, Eddy Deville and Gabriel Mailly on Tuesday 14th. There will also be a Pink Floyd event dedicated to the 50th anniversary of their most memorable album, The Dark Side of the Moon, on Saturday 18th.
For families, the Carnaval des Enfants on Wednesday 15th and Wednesday 22nd at 3pm will delight children of all ages with its fabulous array of colour and sound.
Side events at the Fête du Citron include the arts and crafts market in the Palais de l’Europe, which promotes locally sourced and produced goods from the surrounding towns and villages. Menton is still Europe’s biggest producer of citrus fruit so expect plenty of tangy flavours at the many tasting stations. The orchid festival, held in the same building, is also a highlight, and offers another layer of appreciation to the event for botanic fanatics. Both are free to enter.
For more information about the programme and where to buy tickets, please click here.
The streets of Monaco will look eerily different in the deep hours of the night from this Friday as the government enforces a plan to save energy.
The Prince’s Government revealed on Wednesday that it had just set by ministerial decree dated 10th February the procedures for switching off interior and exterior lights, as well as window and sign lighting, in certain business premises, which will be in force until 30th April 2023.
The new rules, it says, are in line with its energy management plan.
“The lighting of facades and professional premises and spaces must now be turned off from 11pm to 6am, unless the shops are open or in operation during these hours,” states the government.
Any lights inside a building – even computer screens – will also be required to be turned off.
Temporary exemptions will be considered at the discretion of the Minister of State.
“These measures will help to reduce visual pollution and electricity consumption, while respecting the living environment and the energy management commitments made by the Government from the start of the energy crisis,” added the government.
AS Monaco have released a new edition of the club’s iconic 1999-2000 title-winning shirt in collaboration with Kappa.
The shirt worn by icons of Les Monégasques such as Marcelo Gallardo, David Trezeguet, Fabien Barthez and Ludovic Guily has been brought back to life. Kappa, Monaco’s kit provider during that iconic era, reignited their partnership in 2019, in a collaboration that has already lead to the release of the Drôle de Monsieur streetwear collection.
Now, fans of Le Rouge et Blanc can get their hands on the shirt worn during the 1999-2000 season, which saw Monaco lift the French title for the seventh time in their history.
The limited edition, retro shirt can be purchased either at the club’s official store on Promenade Honoré II in Monaco or online at www.shop.asmonaco.com with the price for the collector’s jersey set at €100.
As the death toll in Turkey and Syria rises to over 11,200 after Monday’s devastating earthquake, the Monaco Red Cross has launched an appeal for donations.
The powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern city of Kahramanmaras of Monday has officially claimed 8,750 lives in Turkey and 2,470 in northwestern Syria. But the World Health Organsation has suggested the final toll could reach as high as 20,000 with many people still trapped under the rubble, and freezing weather conditions hampering rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, officials say that hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes.
An international emergency appeal for 70 million Swiss francs has been launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as the Turkish and Syrian Red Crescent Societies are on the front line trying to find survivors and help the injured.
Faced with the scale of the disaster, the Monaco Red Cross is appealing for public donations to support the IFRC in its emergency response, which it will complete with its own funds.
To make a donation, you can send a bank cheque specifying “Turkey”, in cash to be deposited at the headquarters of the Monaco Red Cross – 27 bd de Suisse, via the website www.croix-rouge.mc/faire-un-don/ by selecting “Turkey” in the online donation interface, or by bank transfer (RIB available on the donations web page).
Works on the Palais Honoria residence project is set to disrupt traffic on Boulevard du Jardin Exotique.
Palais Honoria is a new State housing project under construction on the corner of boulevards de Belgique and Jardin Exotique. The next phase will see SMEG carry out work to connect electrics in the building to the high and low voltage network in the Principality, to meet the current and future energy needs of the building.
As a result, traffic on boulevard du Jardin Exotique, near the intersection with Boulevard de Belgique, will be reduced to one lane and controlled manually by workers.
The disruption will take place during school holidays to limit the impact, from Monday 13th February to Friday 24th February, from 9am to 4pm.
Nearby bus stops will be maintained.
Palais Honoria is part of the national housing plan for Monegasques launched by the Prince’s Government in 2019. The delivery of this building complex of 84 housing units is scheduled for the end of the 2nd quarter of 2023.
During a visit to AS Monaco’s performance centre in La Turbie, Pouya Yaghoubinia, Football Development Manager of the European Club Association (ECA), said that the Principality club “can be placed as the top training centre in Europe”.
AS Monaco opened its doors and shared its secrets with 50 European clubs during the fifth session of the ECA Youth Football Knowledge Exchange programme at the club’s performance centre in La Turbie.
In a two-day event, beginning on Tuesday 7th February, 80 club representatives attended to exchange expertise in the field of youth development.
The choice to host the event in Monaco was described as “natural” by PouyaYaghoubinia and “logical” by Monaco’s Director of Youth Development Pascal De Maesschalck.
The latter added, “We have lots of players now, and in the past, that came through the academy. It’s coherent that they come here to share experiences. We aren’t a closed club.”
“AS Monaco can be placed as the top performance centre, not just in France, but in Europe.”
Monaco are renowned for their academy, with World Cup winners Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappé passing through the famous La Diagonale. More recently, Benoît Badiashile established himself as a first-team regular before earning his big-money move to Chelsea, and Eliesse Ben Seghir is the latest to break through.
Photo by Monaco Life
ECA Football Development Manager Yaghoubinia was glowing in his appraisal of the work being done at the Principality club. “We can hold Monaco as an example, not just in terms of the development of infrastructure, but also for their procedures for detecting talent, processes for developing talent and for the importance they give to educating these young players, not just as footballers, but as human beings and future citizens. I think that by bringing together all of these elements, AS Monaco can be placed as the top performance centre, not just in France, but in Europe,” he said.
Contrary to expectations, Monaco, who arguably hold the secrets to developing youth talents, were “open” in sharing their ideas, as were the other elite European sides who contributed to a climate of reciprocal exchanges.
Photo of Pascal De Maesschalck by European Club Association
“The clubs don’t want to remain in their own bubble, with their own ideas. They share massively to ensure that everyone learns from everyone’s experiences and also errors,” said Yaghoubinia.
A “breeding ground” for talent
Monaco exist within the context of French football, which has at its heart the development of young players. The slogan of the top flight, Ligue 1, is reflective of this. Yaghoubinia told Monaco Life that opportunity is the key to France’s success.
“France is a massive breeding ground for talent that you don’t find in every country. But on top of that, there is a fantastic organisation that starts with the federations. In France, these young players play in the first teams, which isn’t necessarily the case everywhere. It is here in France that young players, either in the top flight or in Ligue 2, play the most minutes. This is crucial in the development of these fantastic players,” he said.
The event is mutually beneficial. Monaco’s own system can also learn from processes across Europe, as well as from other sports, with perspectives from the tennis world offered by the Rafael Nadal Academy, who contributed to the discussion at the event. As De Maesschalck told Monaco Life, “elements from strategies can be exchanged and shared that can have a big impact on the functioning of recruitment within academies.”
The glowing words of the ECA’s Football Development Manager, as well as the mere presence of Member Clubs at Les Monégasques’ state-of-the-art performance centre, further validates the work done by the club’s academy, and re-asserts their position as an elite producer and recruiter of young footballing talent.
