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Day: 3 March 2023

Basketball: Roca Team bounce back from blip

by: Luke Entwistle
03/03/2023

Tensions and pressure dissipated on Thursday as AS Monaco Basketball ended a poor run of form with a deserved victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv (86-67). 

The Roca Team headed into the game off the back of consecutive defeats. Not only that, their most recent defeat, at the hands of Barcelona in the Euroleague, brought tensions to the surface, with Mike James and Sasa Obradovic coming to blows.

A win against their Israeli opponents at the Salle Gaston Médecin was a must, not just for morale, but also to reassert their playoff credentials. Monaco started the game well enough, registering 30 points in the opening quarter to create a healthy 13-point buffer.

Chima Moneke becoming a fan favourite

However, that lead was wiped out with the Roca Team failing to score in the opening five minutes of the second quarter. Nerves began to jangle, and that early-game optimism had dissipated, giving way to stunned silence amongst the Roca Team fans.

Monaco and Maccabi began matching each other blow-for-blow, and it required a late show of force to get the job done in front of the home support. Chima Moneke (nine points), who was signed to replace the outgoing Adrien Moerman in January, has quickly established himself as a fan favourite and injected some much-needed energy in the dying stages, which was ultimately decisive.

Jordan Loyd (18 points) continued his good form, whilst Elie Okobo (11 points) helped to ease pressure in key moments. James (12 points, six assists) is slowly re-discovering his best form, but is doing so without the burden of having to carry the team on his shoulders.

Monaco ruthlessly dispatched Maccabi in the final quarter (28-8) to bounce back (86-67) from a recent poor run of form, which had threatened to derail the team’s push for the playoffs.

“It was a great victory,” began Sasa Obradovic. “It is great to have this kind of success, in particular with the way that we played. It is a victory that gives us confidence going forward. Moneke’s contribution was crucial. From the moment he came on, everything went our way,” he continued.

Monaco next face Nanterre in the Betclic Elite on Sunday before returning to Euroleague action against Panathinaikos on Wednesday.

 

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Photo by AS Monaco Basket

Pension reform strikes: Flights from Nice to be cancelled amid national protests

by: Elsa Carpenter
03/03/2023
flights strikes nice

France’s civil aviation authority, the DGAC, has called for the cancellation of hundreds of flights next week as part of the nationwide strikes against proposed plans to reform the pensions system. Nice is among the airports most heavily affected. 

As many as 30% of flights out of Nice are facing the threat of cancellation on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th March.  

On Thursday 2nd March, the Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC) asked airlines present in 11 of the country’s biggest airports to review their plans for next week in light of the strikes, which are likely to see participation from several of the air controller unions. 

The DGAC has asked Paris Charles-de-Gaulle to scale back flights by 20% and by 30% at Paris Orly, Beauvais, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse. 

It warns that delays and disruptions should also be expected to the remaining schedule.  

Travellers due to fly on these days should check the status of their upcoming flight with their airline.  

READ MORE:

How does Monaco’s pension system compare to France?

 

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Photo source: Pixabay

 

 

This Week in Monaco Podcast: 2nd March

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/03/2023

The Monaco Life journalists behind the headlines this week talk Monaco real estate, whisky investment and passion spending habits, binge watching Netflix’s new Drive to Survive series, Monaco football club management becoming a Russian family affair, and how we figured out which F1 drivers actually live in Monaco.

Featuring Editor in Chief: Cassandra Tanti, Editor and Journalist Elsa Carpenter, News and Lifestyle Journalist Stephanie Horsman, and Sports Journalist Luke Entwistle.

To listen to the podcast, simply click play in the box below…

 

 

Four chances to see the Monte-Carlo Opera’s rendition of Verdi masterpiece La Traviata

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/03/2023
la traviata monte-carlo

The Opéra de Monte-Carlo will host four spectacular nights of the renowned opera La Traviata this month, featuring legendary Spanish singer Placido Domingo. 

Marie Duplessis, more commonly referred to as the Lady of the Camellias, was one of 19th century Paris’ most celebrated courtesans. She died tragically young in 1847 at the tender age of 23. Like many in her time, she was a victim of tuberculosis, which at the time had no cure.  

Her popularity and legend lived on however, and this sadly romantic tale was dramatised just five years later by Alexandre Dumas in the novel La Dame aux Camélias, which is known in English as Camille. Only a year later, in 1853, the story had been turned into an opera by Giuseppe Verdi and debuted at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.  

Today, the Monte-Carlo Opera, under the helm of Cecilia Bartoli, is bringing this beloved favourite back to the stage. It will be directed by Bartoli’s predecessor, Jean-Louis Grinda. 

The opera will serve as a vehicle to welcome the famous Spanish singer, Placido Domingo, back to a stage he last trod in 1996. He will be accompanied by the stunning soprano, Aida Garifullina, in the title role, and Javier Camarena as Alfredo.  

La Traviata will be presented to audiences on 17th, 19th, 21st and 23rd March. 

For more information, please click here.

 

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Photo by SBM