Monaco played host to France’s national rugby team from 3rd to 14th July, but what were Le XV de France doing in the Principality?
Lots, as it happens.
The national team managed to fit plenty into an 11-day stay, both on and off the pitch, including multiple meetings with Prince Albert II de Monaco, Princess Charlene and Monegasque officials as well as an open-to-the-public training session at the Stade Louis II that was attended by almost 4,000 local fans of the French team.
Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco welcomed the team to a special reception in the gardens of the Palais Princier de Monaco. Photo credit: Éric Mathon / Palais PrincierThe full team, from players to management, pictured with the Princely couple in the forecourt of the Palais Princier de Monaco. Photo credit: Éric Mathon / Palais Princier
But ultimately, the team was in the Principality as part of preparations for the upcoming Rugby World Cup, which France is hosting.
The theme of training sessions was “high precision”, and Didier Deschamps, France’s national football team’s manager, was drafted in to assist Le XV in honing their skills ahead of what will be a huge home World Cup for the team.
Almost 4,000 local fans came down to the Stade Louis II to watch the French team play and meet with their favourite players. Photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger / Monaco Communications DepartmentIt wasn’t just rugby ball handling skills that the team worked on… Photo credit: Manuel Vitali / Monaco Communications Department
After a few days off, the team will soon be heading to the Centre National de Rugby in Essonne, near Paris, for another round of intense training sessions.
The first match of the World Cup for the home team will open the tournament on 8th September, and see the French team face off against the New Zealand side.
The French team will open the Rugby World Cup with a match against New Zealand on 8th September. Photo credit: Manuel Vitali / Monaco Communications Department
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.
In the first of two rounds of Formula E racing in Rome over the weekend, Maximilian Günther from Monaco-based Maserati MSG Racing clinched third place and his spot on the podium in the Eternal City.
Round 13 of the Formula E Championship, which took place on Saturday 15th July, was a wild ride for the drivers and spectators alike.
A multi-car crash in Lap Nine ended the race early for several drivers, including Maserati MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara, and led to a 45-minute pause in racing, but Günther was able to steer clear of the wreckage and plough on to a third place on the podium.
“The result is massive for the team, huge for the Maserati brand”
Remarkably, it has been 65 years since the Trident brand has raced at home in a single-seaters’ World Championship. The last time it happened was in 1957, when Juan Manuel Fangio finished second in the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
“It’s an amazing feeling to put the Maserati brand on the podium in their first home race in Formula E,” said Günther post-race. “There’s a lot of emotion and happiness. It’s been a tough weekend so far, and we had a few issues which we can hopefully sort out for tomorrow. We qualified well, and we executed the race well, and I’m very happy about the podium. A top five or six finish is what we targeted, and we wanted to score good points, but to take a podium is beyond my expectations. I’m very happy.”
“The result is massive for the team, and huge for the Maserati brand,” concluded Maserati MSG Racing Team Principal James Rossiter.
Saturday’s race on the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR circuit was followed by a quick-off-the-mark Round 14 on Sunday 16th July.
Mortara recovered from the disappointments of Round 13 to take a solid fourth spot on the table, up from P9 after qualifying, while Günther took sixth.
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.
Monaco Collectif Humanitaire has helped save the lives of more than 500 African children in its 15 years of action. The association celebrated these milestones with an event attended by its ambassador and France’s all-time highest goalscorer, Olivier Giroud, as well as Roca Team captain Yakuba Ouattara.
The Monaco Collectif Humanitaire (MCH) is a group of 16 Monaco-based and three French NGOs as well as three health centres in the Principality. It was founded in 2008 to provide surgery in Monaco to children from developing countries whose cardiac or sometimes orthopaedic pathologies cannot be treated in their country of origin.
Since 2019, the MCH has worked in partnership with Chaîne de l’Espoir to provide assistance with treatments and surgeries in four African countries: Mali, Burkina Faso, Madagascar and Senegal.
To date, the MCH has organised often live-saving operations and programmes for 515 children in need of medical care.
EVENTFUL DAY
To mark the association’s 15th anniversary, Giroud, who has been an ambassador of MCH for nine years, visited Monaco on 13th July to meet with four children from Niger and Côte d’Ivoire who recently had heart surgeries at the Principality’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Centre.
Accompanied by Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Monaco’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Guy Nervo, the deputy chairman of the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Centre of Monaco, France’s all-time leading goal scorer also spoke with host families, nursing staff, representatives from the Monegasque Red Cross and a delegation from the Rencontres Africaines, which oversees and organises the young patients’ stays in the region.
Children & Future and Monaco Aide et Présence donated generous sums in support of the Monaco Collectif Humanitaire. Photo credit: Manuel Vitali / Monaco Communications Department
Additionally, Children & Future and Monaco Aide et Présence (MAP) offered generous donations in the form of cheques equalling €50,000 and €20,000 respectively.
Children & Future brought along another famous athlete, Roca Team captain Yakuba Ouattara, who is also a sponsor of No Finish Line, an annual event in the Principality that helps raise funds for the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Centre of Monaco.
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.
Users of the Avantage travel card, a system that guarantees reduced and capped rates for passengers, will notice a considerable price increase from August.
Inflation strikes again, this time affecting rail travellers. SNCF, the French state-owned rail service, has announced that the Avantage card will soon cost passengers more, blaming operational prices increases for the hike.
MILLIONS AFFECTED
The card is used regularly by some 4.5 million people across France, and for €49 per year, allows Avantage-carrying passengers rate reductions of up to 30%.
Under the current system, journey costs are also capped for regular adult passengers aged 28 to 59, so long as part of train ride takes place during a weekend.
Currently, the rates sit at €39 for trips less than 90 minutes, which account for roughly 25% of all journeys made, €59 for voyages between 90 minutes and three hours, which are about 50% of trips, and €79 for anything longer, rounding out the last 25%.
SIGNIFCANT INCREASE
This will change after 29th August, when each category will see a €10 hike across the board, thus making the tickets €49, €69 and €89 for the same durations.
The cost of the actual card will not go up, said SNCF in a statement sent to AFP.
The two-year-old programme was not affected by the previous SCNF rate hike in January, which saw an increase in main line tickets go up by a not inconsiderable 5%. At the time, the Advantage card was given a “tariff shield” against inflation-induced increases.
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.
Monaco’s luxury hospitality giant Monte-Carlo SBM has revealed its plans to acquire a hotel in the high-end skiing destination of Courchevel. The deal is likely to be completed before the end of the year.
The desire to expand its dominance in luxury hospitality beyond the borders of Monaco has long been on the table at Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM). Now that lofty goal looks set to become a reality, and the group has set its sights on a hotel complex in the famous Courchevel resort.
It was announced on Thursday 13th July that SBM’s Luxembourg subsidiary, Monte-Carlo SBM International SARL, had signed an agreement committing to the acquisition of the Palace des Neiges hotel establishment in Courchevel 1850.
Once a done deal, the five-star Palace des Neiges, found in the heart of the Jardin Alpin sector of the resort, will undergo on a massive renovation project to bring it into line with SBM’s award-winning collection of hotels in the Principality, which includes the likes of the Hôtel de Paris and the Hôtel Hermitage.
“This acquisition is the translation of our desire to deploy new sources of growth beyond the Principality of Monaco, while retaining what makes up the DNA of our group,” says Président Délégué of SBM Stéphane Valeri. “In addition to reaching a new target clientele, the future operation will allow our group to be able to develop its seasonality and give new opportunities to our employees throughout the year. It is a matter of writing a new page in the history of our company, in a high place of international luxury.”
According to a press statement, the sale will hopefully be concluded by the end of 2023. The financial details of the deal have not yet been publicly disclosed, but more information is expected to be released after the conclusion of the summer season.
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.
There’s no denying Monaco is a small nation, but there’s a lot more to it than the Casino, the port and the Palace. In a new Monaco Life series, we’re getting to know the different neighbourhoods of Monaco, starting with its most historic quartier: Le Rocher.
The country of Monaco is only 2.2 square kilometres, but in terms of style and appeal, it packs a huge punch. The Principality is one of the most sought-after enclaves in the world.
Populated by the rich and famous, the nation boasts several different neighbourhoods – there’s a new one on the way too – but each has a different feel and things to offer.
The oldest of these is Monaco-Ville, more commonly called The Rock or Le Rocher, due to its setting on an elevated rocky perch above the rest of the Principality.
It is, notably, the least populated district in the Principality, housing a mere 836 inhabitants, according to the latest statistics from IMSEE. But despite its age-old ties to the history of Monaco, The Rock is actually home to one of the lowest proportions of Monegasques in any of the Principality’s neighbourhoods. Almost eight in 10 locals are from outside of Monaco.
HEART OF MONACO
That said, Monaco-Ville is the historic heart of the Principality, featuring the several places of note, including the Prince’s Palace.
Inside the Palais Princier de Monaco, which is partially open to the public. Photo by Monaco Life
Built in the 13th century, and remodelled during the Renaissance, the Palace now nearing the end of a major make-over to restore over 600m2 of stunning 16th century frescoes. The Palais Princier de Monaco, as it is known, is also special in that it is partially open to the public, allowing tourists a glimpse into the lives of Monaco’s royals.
Additionally, the concourse of the Palace is the venue for a series of summer open-air concerts, as well as other events and concerts throughout the year.
The Palace houses an annual series of summer concerts beneath the stars each summer. Photo credit: Axel Bastello / Palais Princier de Monaco
Another iconic landmark in the district is the Notre-Dame-Immaculée de Monaco Cathedral, made famous by the 1956 wedding of Prince Rainier III to American actress Grace Kelly. The structure was built between 1875 and 1903, but wasn’t consecrated until 1911. Featuring vaulted ceilings and a break-taking altarpiece, it was built on the site of the country’s first parish church, dating back to 1252, and houses the tombs of former Princes.
The neighbourhood is also home to the Oceanographic Musuem, built by Prince Albert I in 1910. Sometimes called the “Temple of the Sea”, the museum, run by the famous oceanographer and diver Jacques Cousteau between 1957 and 1988, is dedicated to marine research and protection.
Monaco’s Temple of the Sea, the Oceanographique Museum. Photo credit: M. Dagnino
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Other attractions well-worth a visit include the outdoor cinema in summer months, the Saint Martin Gardens, the Courthouse and the plethora of cobbled streets lined with boutiques, souvenir shops and ice cream parlours. There are also some charming restaurants, which offer a wide selection of culinary choices ranging from relaxed pizza, pasta and crepes to more refined Mediterranean fare.
The district gets quiet at night, so is a great place to get away from touristy crowds and noise, as well as to take in the views from high above the Mediterranean.
To discover how the Princely Grimaldi family came to call The Rock of Monaco their home, a story that dates back to 1297, see below:
