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Day: 25 July 2023

Basketball: NBA legend Kemba Walker signs for Monaco

by: Luke Entwistle
25/07/2023
Kemba Walker for the Charlotte Hornets

AS Monaco Basketball have pulled off the signing of the summer, bringing NBA legend Kemba Walker to the Principality on a one-year deal. 

A four-time NBA all-star, the highest scorer in the history of the Charlotte Hornets, and with  starts in the most prestigious league in the world, Walker will arguably become the most high-profile basketballer to ever grace the French game.

Alongside Mike James, Jordan Loyd and Élie Okobo, the signing of Walker means that the Roca Team now possess the most frightening backline in the Euroleague. Monaco somewhat overperformed in getting to the Euroleague Final Four last season, and it is increasingly clear that they will be gunning for the title this time around.

“I want to help build something”

33-year-old Walker is a stunning addition to the team, although there are doubts over his fitness. The American was limited to just nine games with the Dallas Mavericks last season due to knee issues. A fit and firing Walker would spell danger for Monaco’s rivals, whilst the player’s mere arrival raises the profile of the club globally, and his presence is certain to ensure sell-out crowds at the Salle Gaston Médecin year-long.

Speaking to the club’s official channels, Walker said that Monaco’s “belief” in him was a major factor in trading the NBA for the Euroleague.

“The club were really interested in me. I just wanted to be part of a club that wanted me, that believed in me. I could see that the management thought that I could help them reach another level. That convinced me to join Monaco,” he said. “I want to help build something.”

Walker is joining a blossoming project in the Principality; it was not so long ago that the Roca Team were toiling in France’s lower divisions.

A future return to the NBA?

Whilst Walker has only just left the USA, there is understandable curiosity surrounding his long-term future. For now, however, the American is focusing on his objectives in Monaco before committing to a future return to the NBA.

“I’m not sure [about a return to the NBA]. The NBA is the main objective, but I have played there for many years. For now, I’m fully focused on my new adventure,” he said.

Perhaps Walker is in Monaco for a good time, not for a long time. It is still too early to tell, but he is looking forward to the start of the season and all that that may bring.

“We’re going to have good times. I can’t wait for it to get started,” concluded the Roca Team’s star signing.

 

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Photo credit: Keith Allison

France to plant a billion trees and increase protected sites with new biodiversity pact

by: Elsa Carpenter
25/07/2023
france biodiversity

France has announced a 39-measure National Strategy for Biodiversity that focuses on reducing pressures on the environment and restoring degraded ecosystems. 

A total of 39 new measures are being initiated by the French government in an effort to preserve the country’s biological diversity for future generations and overall environmental wellbeing.  

Mainland France and its oversea territories are home to a staggering 10% of known flora and fauna – that’s 180,000 different species – and in excess of 600 new species are discovered every year, predominantly in the country’s overseas territories.   

To protect these natural treasures, many of which are under threat and considered endangered, the government is now working to preserve the environment with the “National Strategy for Biodiversity” plan that was presented at the most recent meeting of the National Biodiversity Committee on 20th July. 

THE SCHEME 

The plan is centred on four main axes: to reduce pressure on the environment, restore degraded ecosystems, mobilise all players, and to have the ways and means to fulfil these ambitions.  

“An integral part of ecological planning, our national biodiversity strategy follows a strong ambition: to stop and then reverse the collapse of living organisms within a decade,” said Élisabeth Borne, the French prime minister, as she unveiled the project.  

Some of the more proactive measures include strengthening the fight against plastic pollution, combating widespread light pollution, better managing invasive species, and accelerating the country’s agroecological transition. 

ON LAND AND AT SEA

France is also seeking to considerably increased the number and volume of protected sites within its land and sea borders, and around 400 new sites are expected to be within these protections by 2027. 

By 2030, the goal is to have 30% of French territory classed as protected as well as all of its coral reefs. France currently controls about 10% of all coral reefs in the world.  

The government also intends to plant a billion trees by the end of the decade in addition to 50,000 kilometres of native hedgerow species.  

 

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Photo source: Ray Ziak, Unsplash

A breakdown of Monaco’s temporary workforce

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/07/2023

Temporary work still accounts for a large proportion of the jobs on offer in Monaco, according to the latest IMSEE report, and the majority filling those positions are still men. Here are some other interesting facts.

By the end of 2022, temporary employment agencies in Monaco had registered 6,117 employees on their books, a figure which jumped to around 6,700 in the busy month of July. It equates to 11% of the total private sector workforce in the Principality, and generated €244.3 million in turnover.

Male dominated sectors

The report by Monegasque statistics group IMSEE showed that 84.5% of these temporary employees were male. This proportion is much higher than in the private sector as a whole, where 61.1% are men.

Meanwhile, the average age of a temporary worker in Monaco last year was 40.6 years, which is almost two years younger than the overall average.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost all of the 6,117 employees resided outside of the Principality in 2022, including 14% in Italy and 15.3% in one of the four neighbouring French municipalities.

Most of the temporary employees – 4,100 – lived in the Alpes-Maritimes beyond the neighbouring communes. About 100 lived in Monaco.

Less than half are French nationals

Perhaps more surprising is the fact that 42% of temporary workers are French, whereas this nationality accounts for more than 60% of the total workforce in the private sector. Portuguese workers are significantly represented in the temporary work sector, with 1,300 people, or 21.3% of the total, making them the second most common temporary workers in Monaco. 15.9% of temporary workers are Italian, a proportion similar to the overall figure.

“Monegasques are practically absent from the population of employees of temporary work agencies,” said IMSEE in its report.

Construction is biggest sector

While the majority of working contracts were signed at the beginning of the calendar year, May and September also saw the start of a large number of temporary assignments.

Construction remains, by far, the major economic sector that makes the most use of temporary work. 43% of all assignments in 2022 were carried out on behalf of companies whose main activity belongs to this sector, accounting for almost two-thirds of all days worked by temporary staff.

Meanwhile, the accommodation and food service activities sector regained its position as the second-largest provider of temporary jobs, which it held before the Covid crisis.

Financial and insurance activities and information and communication are the two sectors that make the least use of temporary work, each accounting for less than 1% of temporary assignments in 2022.

Who is most in demand?

Qualifications including labourer, waiter/waitress, cleaner, formworker, warehouse worker and bricklayer were most in demand in 2022.

Almost half of all temporary work assignments, 48.1%, lasted between one and seven days, while very short-term assignments of just one day accounted for 28%. The largest number of single-day contracts were in the food and beverage service activities, accounting for more than 86% in 2022.

In contrast, construction accounted for only 7.4% of one-day assignments.

 

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Photo by Monaco Life

 

 

A Michelin star-studded Festival des Etoilés is returning to Monaco this autumn

by: Elsa Carpenter
25/07/2023
festival des etoiles

The biggest haute cuisine names in Monaco will come together this autumn for the Festival des Etoilés, a series of exceptional evenings of gastronomy and art de vivre. Here’s what we know so far. 

The 2023 Festival des Etoilés – or Festival of the Starred – will follow a similar format to the two incredibly popular editions that went before it: a Michelin-starred chef from one of Société des Bains de Mer’s (SBM) top restaurants will partner with another internationally-recognised talent for two nights of glorious haute cuisine dining ahead of a grand finale featuring a number of Monaco’s most iconic chefs.  

Last year saw Yannick Alléno, Alain Ducasse, Dominique Lory and Marcel Ravin put their heads together for the menu of the black-tie closing night – a stunning culmination of weeks of fine dining across the Principality – and several of these chefs will be participating again in the third edition.  

Michelin-starred chefs from across the Principality

Already confirmed is the two Michelin-starred Ravin of the Blue Bay, who will join with three Michelin-starred Julien Royer, a French chef most well-known for his prized Odette in Singapore and for having won Les Grandes Tables’ “Restaurateur of the Year 2022”. Together they will launch the festival on 29th and 30th September at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. Their menu, which will be taking on the theme of “Garden Gastronomy”, will be available on both nights and costs €690 per person with food and the Grand Cru Champagne pairing of La Grande Dame cuvée from Maison Veuve Clicquot.  

Next up on 13th and 14th October is a collaboration between the Hôtel de Paris’ Lory and British chef Jason Atherton. For €450 at Le Grill, the duo will be serving up “a moment of conviviality and generosity” on the eighth floor of this prestigious address.  

Then on 27th and 28th October, Emmanuel Pilon of Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris and Amaury Bouhours, Head Chef at Le Meurice Alain Ducasse in Paris, will host another round of exceptional cookery inspired by the Mediterranean and “cuisine de l’essentiel” in the presence of the celebrated Ducasse. Each seat costs €900, including drinks.

The grand finale gala dinner

This year’s Festival des Etoilés is set to wrap up on 11th November with a gala dinner in the Salle Empire of the Hôtel de Paris. Ducasse himself will be cooking alongside Pilon, Ravin, Alléno and Lory as SBM’s greatest chefs present a menu of their own signature dishes.

The prices and entertainment for the night is yet to be confirmed, but stay tuned as Monaco Life will be giving you the low down as soon as we know all the details. 

Reservations can already be made for the first three occasions via the SBM website, which is available here.

 

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Photo credit: Vergely Benjamin / Monte-Carlo SBM

Forest fire alert system increases warning levels for the Alpes-Maritimes

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/07/2023
Météo France forest fires forest fire alpes-maritimes

New limits on forest access and use have been activated in the Alpes-Maritimes, just days after a blanket red alert was imposed on much of the neighbouring Var. Here’s what you need to know. 

As of Tuesday 25th July, the forest fire alert system in place for large swathes of forest and hinterland in the Alpes-Maritimes has switched from a “no restrictions” green level to orange and even red for one zone.  

Access is not recommended, but also not prohibited, for areas under orange alert. According to the French state-run Risque-Prevention-Incendie website, an orange alert does, however, put a ban on any “work that could cause a fire… except for agricultural, forestry or general interest work from 5am to 1pm with a fire extinguishing device”.

Almost the entire coastal section of Alpes-Maritimes, from the Italian border to Cannes, including Nice and Antibes, is now under orange alert, as well as areas further inland, including Peille, Castellar, Tourrette-Levens, Carros, Vence, Tourrette-sur-Loup, Grasse and Saint-Vallier-de Thiey.  

The red zone covers Mandelieu La-Napoule, Pegomas, Auribeau-sur-Siagne and Le Tignet.  

The rest of the Alpes-Maritimes, the more mountainous and higher elevation section, is still considered safe for both work and access.  

A map of the alert levels in place on Tuesday 25th July 2023. Image via Risque-Prevention-Incendie.fr

HUMANS CAUSE MOST FIRES 

According to official statistics for France, nine out of 10 fires are caused by humans, primarily through careless acts such as throwing away burning cigarette butts, BBQs getting out of control, improperly managing campfires and the like.  

The Alpes-Maritimes and the Côte d’Azur in general are amongst the areas most at risk from forest fires, therefore special consideration must be taken when using local woodlands.  

The French government has therefore created a special campaign that is available in seven languages, including English, to help visitors and residents do their part to stop more precious woodland from being gobbled up by fire.  

To check what the daily access status for the Alpes-Maritimes, click here.    

 

Read more:

Access to forests and massifs in much of the Riviera is barred 

 

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Photo source: Fabian Jones, Unsplash

Nice offers bathers a more graceful exit from the sea thanks to new rope lines

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/07/2023
nice rope sea

The famed stony beaches of Nice aren’t the easiest in terms of entering and exiting the sea, but a new series of rope tow lines on four beaches should make the process a little less hard on the feet and balance this summer.

The beautiful beaches of Nice and its iconic Promenade des Anglais have long proven themselves a draw for tourists and visitors from all over the world, but their one drawback, according to some swimmers and bathers, are the rocks.  

Getting in and out of the sea requires a balancing act verging on the acrobatic, with sore feet and a bruised ego from falling rather ungracefully down often the outcome.  

To help make the route a bit smoother for the thousands who descend into the waters of the Baie des Anges each summer, Nice City Hall has installed a series of rope lines at four beaches to assist bathers in entering and leaving the water.  

A throwback to the beginning of the 20th century, when rope tow lines were commonly used on Nice’s beaches, the modern system has been in place since the start of July and can be found at Les Ponchettes, Centenaire Plage, Blue Beach and Sainte-Hélène.  

They have all been installed near lifeguard stations and provide an extra level of safety and security for swimmers.

After a few weeks of use, the rope lines certainly seem to be a real hit, with many wondering how they ever got by without them! 

 

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Photo by Monaco Life