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Month: April 2023

Football: Sell-out crowd at open day gives Monaco players much-needed boost

by: Luke Entwistle
26/04/2023
AS Monaco captain Wissam Ben Yedder

A sell-out crowd, packed with inspired youngsters, attended an open training event at AS Monaco’s Performance Centre in La Turbie on Wednesday in an exchange of positive energy. 

“We need our supporters during the good times, but certainly also in difficult periods,” said manager Philippe Clement at the end of the event. After a consequential 3-0 defeat against RC Lens on Saturday, Les Monégasques were in need of a boost, and they got one.

A sell-out crowd of 400 Monaco fans packed the stands on a sun-drenched Spring morning. The event began on a jovial note as Ruben Aguilar, celebrating his 30th birthday, was serenaded with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” from the youthful crowd.

Whilst the festivities continued in the stands, with fans interacting with the club’s mascot Bouba, the players were put through their paces in preparation for Sunday’s match at the Stade Louis II against Montpellier.

“It brings your smile back”

Breel Embolo wasn’t involved in the main session, as he recovers from an injury, but he still felt the “positivity” exuded by the youthful crowd. “It is what we needed. It’s never easy after a defeat,” added the Swiss international.

He and the rest of the squad, as well as Clement, then interacted with those that had travelled to watch their football idols’ version of a day at the office. “It is important to have a good connection with the supporters. There were lots of young supporters here today. They’re fans of today, but also of tomorrow,” said Clement.

“It boosts you a bit. When you’re in a difficult period, it brings your smile back,” Monaco captain Wissam Ben Yedder told Monaco Life.

“I heard a lot of enthusiasm, and I told them to come to the stadium every time,” concluded Clement. Leaving the field, the Monaco players certainly gave the impression of having received a mental boost from the event, and they’ll hope to receive the same fervent support against Montpellier – a crucial fixture in the Principality club’s “final sprint” to reach the podium.

 

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All photos by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

 

Emmanuel Macron promises government action plan in next 100 days

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/04/2023

French President Emmanuel Macron has given himself 100 days to heal the country after weeks of protests and anger at his unpopular plans to raise the retirement age, asking his government to open talks with unions on a wide range of issues.

In a televised speech two days after signing into law plans to increase the retirement age by two years to 64, Macron said he wanted his prime minister to propose measures on working conditions, law and order, education and health issues.

“On 14th July, we must be able to take stock,” Macron said, referring to Bastille Day, France’s national day, often a milestone in French politics.

“We have ahead of us 100 days of appeasement, unity, ambition and action for France,” he said.

Macron has staked his reputation as a reformer on the pension changes, which he said were needed to avoid billions of euros of deficit each year by the end of the decade.

But his failure to build a parliamentary majority to back the reform, which forced him to ram it through without a vote using special constitutional powers, cost him much political capital.

On Monday, he said he regretted the fact the changes were not supported by the broader public.

“Is this reform accepted? Obviously not. Despite months of talks, a consensus wasn’t found, and I regret that. We must draw all the lessons from that,” he said.

As Macron started his speech, demonstrators banged pots and pans in front of town halls across the country and small groups of protesters set garbage bins on fire in Paris.

Macron gave few details about the roadmap he wanted the government to work on but said it should improve working conditions and also tighten immigration laws.

Speaking immediately after Macron’s speech, the head of France’s largest union, the CFDT’s Laurent Berger, said Macron’s speech had been totally empty and failed to address the anger in the country.

“There’s just a sort of emptiness, there is nothing in there, we expected something else,” he said.

He said unions would be ready to talk with the government only after Labour Day on 1st May, following what he called a period of “decency” to let workers’ anger calm.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Macron was “stuck in a parallel world”.

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Monaco Life with Reuters. Photo credit: Anthony Choren on Unsplash

 

 

Les Casinos de Monaco backs Oceanographic Institute in new partnership

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/04/2023

SBM’s The Sea is Green initiative is paying off dividends, with €41,000 raised at its casinos going towards Monaco’s Oceanographic Institute.

On Tuesday 25th April, the CEO of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), Stéphane Valeri, presented Robert Calcagno, Managing Director of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, with a cheque for €41,000, on behalf of Les Casinos de Monaco, in the presence of Massimo Michelis, Deputy Director of Monaco Casinos, and professional free diver Pierre Frolla.

The donation was made as part of The Sea is Green program, developed and orchestrated by SBM and sponsored by world record holder Frolla.

“The preservation of the environment is at the heart of our corporate policy, with a new impetus that I hope will be decisive for Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a theme which I I entrusted the task to our Secretary General, Virginie Cotta,” said Stéphane Valeri.

The €41,000 donation is the first outcome of a two-month The Sea is Green entertainment program, being held from 10th March to 10th May at various SBM venues, to raise customer awareness around the issues concerning the oceans.

Part of this unprecedented initiative encouraged ‘My Monte-Carlo’ loyalty customers of Les Casinos de Monaco – the Casino de Monte-Carlo and the Casino Café de Paris – to donate to the Oceanographic Institute.

“The establishments of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer are the scene of many moments of life and encapsulate memories and emotions. Mobilising this energy for the protection of the Ocean is the ambition of the association of our two entities,” said Robert Calcagno, Director General of the Oceanographic Institute. “I sincerely welcome this donation, which will support the missions of the Oceanographic Institute in its mediation actions to ‘make the ocean known, loved and protected’. This first step seals the promise of a long collaboration alongside Stéphane Valeri and his teams.”

Casinos de Monaco have been certified since 2019 by the European Casino Association as ‘Responsible Gaming’ operators.

 

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SEE ALSO:

Save the Date: Full listing of SBM’s The Sea is Green programme

 

Photo: Managing Director of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco Robert Calcagno, professional free diver Pierre Frolla, SBM CEO Stéphane Valeri, and Massimo Michelis, Deputy Director of Monaco Casinos. Credit: Frederic Pacorel

 

 

World’s most powerful online platforms to comply with new EU Digital Services Act

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/04/2023
digital services act

Major search engines like Google and Amazon now have four months to get in line with the EU’s new consumer-protecting Digital Services Act. 

Back in 2020, the European Union (EU) proposed an idea to make the internet a “safer, more fair digital space for all”. This became the Digital Services Act (DSA), passed in November 2022, which obliges online platforms to be more transparent, easier for consumers to use, and more accountable in terms of user rights.  

Now, five months on, the first list of “Very Large Online Platforms” and “Very Large Search Engines” to be impacted has been released. These include household names such as Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, YouTube, Google and Snapchat, and were chosen based on user data published in February 2023.  

WHAT’S NEXT 

The next step for the companies will be compliance in the form of policy changes set forth by the DSA. They have only four months to implement the changes, meaning these behemoths will need to move fast, not something many large entities are good at.  

The new rules are aimed at empowering and protecting end users, including minors, by requiring the targeted companies to look at their systemic risks and providing strong moderation tools. These include such things as simpler opt-out tools, better ways to report illegal content, clearer terms and conditions written in understandable language free from legalese, prohibition of advertising targeting children, added privacy and security measures (particularly for minors), and ways to address and stop the spread of misinformation and inauthentic use of their services.  

Gender-based violence and advertising aimed at an individual based on data collected about sensitive topics, like their political opinions, ethnic origin or sexual orientation, will also no longer be allowed.  

At the end of the four-month conformity period, the companies must show they have adapted their systems as well as to report to the European Commission (EC) with their first risk assessment study.  

In addition, the EC is looking at ways to ensure service providers are effectively handling cases of hate speech and other devices that may affect users’ mental health.  

For more information and a full list of the companies involved, click here.

 

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Photo source: Rupixen for Unsplash 

Open-air cinema this May at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/04/2023
monte-carlo bay

Sea, stars and cinema await at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort’s open-air screening evening of Le Grand Bleu in May.  

Save the date for 10th May, when Monte-Carlo Bay will host a special al fresco evening of cinema beneath the stars as part of the ongoing “The Sea is Green” programme.  

Guests will be immersed in comfort as they are seated in deckchairs near the lagoon and treated to a finger food menu featuring the “best of the sea” in a street food style to watch a screening of the 1988 cult classic Le Grand Bleu by celebrated director Luc Besson.  

Considered one of the most beautiful films ever made, the story is a heavily fictionalised drama about a rivalry between real-life free divers Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca, who both set “no limits” deep diving records, going below 100 metres without the use of any breathing equipment. Though they compete against each other to see who can go deeper and stay under longest, it is not contentious, and the pair are friends, though neither can resist the lure of trying to outdo the other, making for a seriously dangerous game. 

The story is gripping, but it is the underwater photography, which is visually astonishing, and the emotionally intense content that hooked people in back when it was first released.  

Doors open at 7.30pm and the cost is €65 for adults and €35 for children under 12. This includes the film plus a main dish and dessert from the menu.  

Ticket are required and can be purchased online here. 

 

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

 

Photo source: SBM

Garden inspiration at the Villa Ephrussi rose festival

by: Elsa Carpenter
26/04/2023
villa ephrussi

Full buds and flowers bursting into bloom, nothing says spring more in the garden than the arrival of roses. Enjoy them in all their glory at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild this weekend.  

Over the course of two days, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th April, the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Saint Jean Cap Ferrat will be throwing their gates open to the public for a special event on the roses and plants that grow within the boundaries.  

The head gardener will be hosting a series of workshops for adults and children, while an official guide will lead visitors on tours through the incredible property’s “nine sacred gardens”.  

Local farmers, rose growers and nurseries will also be on hand, selling everything from the plants themselves to equipment. It’s the perfect opportunity to ask the professionals any questions you have about your garden and growing roses.  

Inspiration in the gardens

And if that’s not inspiration enough, pianist Steve Villa Masonne will be setting up his signature red piano in the heart of the gardens for an unforgettable performance accompanied by the Lumin Art ballerina duo next to the Villa Ephrussi’s famous musical fountains.  

It’s the 12th edition of this successful – and scented – event. Tickets cost €16 per adult, €13 for seven to 17-year-olds and a family pass costs €45.  

For more information, please click here.  

 

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

 

Photo credit: Sandra Malbequi / Facebook