Inside Monaco’s new and improved Espace Lamartine activities centre

30/08/2023

After three years of renovations, the Espace Lamartine community centre is set to reopen its doors in September with a packed programme of fitness classes, workshops, leisure activities and everything in-between.

The first thing that strikes visitors to the revamped Espace Lamartine leisure and activity centre is how light and airy it is. The second is how much thought was put into this new community space, from nooks to sit in peacefully to plentiful space for moving about, and from areas for quiet independent work to rooms for interactive meetings.

The well-proportioned 1,000m2 building on Boulevard Princesse Charlotte, which will officially throw open its doors on 11th September, is lining up a programme full of events across a range of genres between 9am and 7pm on weekdays and from 10am to 6pm on weekends. It is positioned to become a true hub for the whole Monaco population.

*Espace Lamartine on Boulevard Princesse Charlotte. Photo credit: Stéphane Danna / Monaco Communications Department*

LOADS OF FUN TO BE HAD

For fitness lovers, the class list is impressive and features yoga, Pilates, gentle gym, Nordic walking, muscle awakening and aqua relaxation. For those looking for something a bit more practical, there will be cookery courses, reading groups, and IT and DIY instruction.

Then for pure pleasure, the centre will also have fun and games aplenty, with board games, table football, karaoke evenings, escape games, parties, competitions and group outings.

In addition, there is a coffee area and multipurpose rooms available to rent for occasions such as conferences involving up to 40 people, musical practice and parties. The 100m2 space comes with tables and chairs, and is sound-proofed for the comfort of all.

There are also rooms intended as quiet spaces to relax or read a book, and a computer room is set up for use, making it a great spot to work or browse the internet.

COMMUNITY AND FAMILY SPACE

Annual membership costs €200 per adult or €25 for a monthly trial. Over 60s and students benefit from a reduced rate of €120, and there are a number of reductions available for children whose parents are members.

A week-long open house has been organised from 4th to 9th September from 10am to 7pm, and anyone interested can come along to take a sneak peek at this charming new space.

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Photo credits: Stéphane Danna / Monaco Communications Department

French public sector workers to get 75% off public transport fees

by: Stephanie Horsman

30/08/2023

As of next month, public sector employees in France will receive a 75% subsidiary on public transport fees as the government seeks to encourage alternatives to individual car use.

From 1st September, workers in the public sector will see public transportation subsidies paid by the state boosted by a full 25% starting 1st September.

The new decree, which was published in the Official Journal on 23rd August, covers all workers in the public realm, whether they be contract staff or civil servants, and raises the coverage of costs from 50% off ticket prices to 75%.

Employers will be obliged to take care of the related costs, but employees must take the shortest possible journeys from their residence to the workplace in order to be in compliance with the new rules.

WHAT’S COVERED

The transport tickets concerned are multimodal subscriptions, which allow the use of different types of public transport including train or bus, as well as annual, monthly or weekly renewal subscriptions to unlimited or limited journeys serviced by the RATP, the SNCF, private transport companies belonging to the professional organisation of transport of Île-de-France (Optile) or any other public passenger transport company. Subscriptions to public bicycle rental services are also included.

This is clearly intended to get people out of cars and onto greener forms of transportation to get to and from the workplace, and is a part of an overall environmental strategy initiated by the French government.

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Photo source: Manki Kim, Unsplash

UK to delay border controls on EU goods until next year

by: Elsa Carpenter

30/08/2023

The UK has delayed, for a fifth time, the first stage of post-Brexit border checks on fresh produce heading into Britain from Europe.

After successive postponements, the introduction of the controls will be implemented from January 2024, three months later than recently touted.

Government sources say the move should give concerned businesses more time to adapt to the changes, but some traders still say they feel pushed.

Commentators in the British press, meanwhile, argue that the delay has come about due to fears of the impact food price inflation may have on the UK population during an already stressed cost of living crisis. Others have gone a step further to accuse the UK of being “unable to cope with the consequences of Brexit”, calling the latest announcement yet another case of “foot-dragging” by the British government.

New rules in a post-Brexit Britain

The revised timeline for the introduction of checks is now: 31st January 2024 for imports of medium-risk animal products, plants and plants products, and high-risk non-animal origin food and feed from the EU will require health certification; 30th April 2024 for documentary, identity and physical checks of the previously mentioned products, and the introduction of a new “risk-based” approach for imports of sanitary and phytosanitary goods from other parts of the world; and 31st October 2024 is when mandatory safety and security declarations for EU imports will be required.

Under the new rules, all consignments of goods eligible for the sanitary and phytosanitary introduced in the second phase will be required to pay a “common user charge” for between £20 and £43 regardless of whether they have been selected for inspection or not. The confirmed amount is yet to be revealed, adding extra pressures to an already tense relationship between EU exporters and post-Brexit Britain.

“The critical thing is preparedness,” the head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, William Bain, is quoted as saying in The Guardian. “Businesses are making investment and supply chain decisions for the long term and need to be confident that the physical and digital infrastructure around the GB border is going to be in place on time.”

British exporters, meanwhile, are keen for the system to come into force in the name of fairness.

According to statements made to Sky News by Minette Batters, the president of the National Farmers Union in the UK, “[UK] farmers have faced the full reach of EU controls on our exports while the EU has enjoyed continued easy access to the UK marketplace [for three years].”

The EU has operated checks on British goods heading onto the continent since January 2021.

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Photo source: Randy Bailey, Unsplash

Registrations open for UTMB Côte d’Azur event

by: Luke Entwistle

29/08/2023

The UTMB series is coming to the Côte d’Azur next month and registration for two of the ultramarathon events are still open.

After a successful first edition in 2022, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc Nice Côte d’Azur returns on 28th September as part of the UTMB World Series Finals.

What is UTMB?

The first UTMB event was held in 2003 and followed the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. The 171-kilometre event, which includes a total elevation gain of over 10,000 metres, is considered one of the most competitive ultramarathon trails in the world.

The event has since expanded into a World Series, with competitions across the world. For the UMTB, one of the most challenging footraces in the world, entry is strict and many of those who start the race fail to finish.

Ultra Trail Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur – 100M

Registration is still open for two events. The Ultra Trail Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur – 100M begins in Auron on Friday 29th September and is a 102.5-mile trail, which will lead participants from the Mercantour to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Participants will quickly reach 2,650 metres above sea level before gradually descending as they approach the Riviera. It will cost €230 to sign up for the event, which participants have just 48 hours to complete.

Roubion – Nice 100K

It is also still possible to get involved in the Roubion – Nice 100K – a 115-kilometre route beginning in Roubion on Saturday 30th September. This route is shorter than the Ultra Trail Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur – 100M, but there is less time allotted to complete it. Participants must reach the Promenade des Anglais in just 29 hours.

This route, which entails over 4,800 metres of climbing, takes participants from the Mercantour village of Roubion through the Niçois hinterland and onto the Promenade des Anglais, all the while offering spectacular views of the Côte d’Azur region. The entry fee for the event is €165.

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Photo credit: akunamatata

The story behind the €200 million fund to destroy France’s surplus wine

by: Elsa Carpenter

29/08/2023

It might sound totally crazy for a wine-loving country, but France is co-supporting a €200 million fund with the EU to destroy more than 300 million litres of its wine stocks. Here’s why.

The demand for wine has been slowly dropping off all around Europe in recent years. According to statistics from the European Commission (EC), consumption has fallen by 15% in France so far in 2023, but as much as 34% in other European Union (EU) member states.

That, combined with prices so low that some producers say are tipping the balance from profit to loss, has led to a massive surplus of wine: an estimated 300 million litres or three million hectolitres. The regions of Bordeaux and Languedoc have been particularly affected, where as many as one in three winemakers are facing financial difficulties.

On Friday 25th August, Minister for Agriculture Marc Fesneau announced that an initial fund of €160 million, which is being financed by the EU, would be topped up to the tune of €200 million by the French state.

An industry that needs to adapt

The money will go towards helping wine producers pay for the distillation of their surpluses, transforming the wine into ethanol suitable for use by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, such as for the production of hand sanitising gel, cleaning products or even perfumes.

Fesneau went on to add that the fund “aimed at stopping prices collapsing and so that winemakers can find sources of revenue again”, but emphasised the need for adaptation in the wine industry, stressing that producers should consider “consumer changes”.

This is not the first time that the EU and France have had to step in to support the wine industry in this way. Another ways of reducing the excess of wine before it is bottled and put on sale is encouraging producers to pull up vines and replace them with more “in-demand” plantations, such as olive groves.

According to EU figures, the EU spends in the region of €1 billion on supporting its wine industry – the biggest in the world – each year.

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Photo source: Sigmund, Unsplash

French pharmacists now authorised to prescribe and administer vaccines

by: Stephanie Horsman

29/08/2023

Two new governmental decrees have expanded the roles of pharmacists in France, allowing them to not only prescribe vaccinations, but also to administer them.

Gone are the days of needing to get a prescription filled for jabs only to have to schedule another appointment with a health care professional to administer it after a trip to the pharmacy to pick up the vaccination.

Thanks to a change in the law, the door has been opened for pharmacists to take on the dual tasks of fulfilling and giving vaccines to anyone over the age of 11.

INCREASE IN SERVICES

Pharmacists have been able to administer injections for 14 common shots since November 2022, but the rules were quite restrictive. Patients had to be at least 16 years of age and a prescription from a doctor of midwife was required.

Now, they can both offer mandatory and recommended inoculations to anyone 11 years and older, bypassing a trip to the doctor’s office altogether.

The pharmacists allowed to perform this service will have undergone practical and theoretical training. They will also have been required to sign a declaration to the pertinent authorities at the College of Pharmacists to which they are members.

EXTENSIVE LIST

The list of what jabs are now available at a pharmacy is quite extensive and includes diphtheria, tetanus, polio, flu, Covid, pertussis, hepatitis A and B, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcus C, pneumococcus, tuberculosis, HPV, yellow fever, rabies, chicken pox, monkeypox and shingles.

Pharmacies will provide patients with a “confidentiality area”, have a refrigeration unit with proper temperature recording and monitoring of vaccines, and the computer software necessary to trace each jab.

People should visit their local pharmacy to see if they are handling all requests and whether an appointment is required.

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Photo source: Ed Us, Unsplash

Month: August 2023