The Palace Archives, the Prince Pierre Foundation and the Monaco Audiovisual Institute are offering several events at the Théâtre des Variétés to celebrate the 150Th anniversary of Colette’s birth.
Born on 28th January 1873, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, known as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress and journalist.
She stayed regularly on the Côte d’Azur throughout her life. Over a number of decades, she also forged a special bond with Monaco. In 1908, she performed at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Place du Casino, in La Chair. In 1925, she wrote the libretto for Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, premiered at the Salle Garnier, and met her third husband, Maurice Goudeket, in Cap-d’Ail.
After the war, she returned to the South where she was welcomed in Grasse by the Polignac family. It was the beginning of her friendship with Prince Pierre. Thereafter, she stayed at the Hôtel de Paris every winter.
Appointed honorary president of the Literary Council of the Principality upon its creation in 1951, Colette made her last visit to Monaco in April 1954 for the presentation of the Literary Prize to Jules Roy at the Prince’s Palace.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the following events have been planned:
Monday 6-7 November at 7pm – Colette : écrivain par hazard – Conférence d’Antoine Compagnon
Tuesday 7 November at 8pm – Chéri, film by Stephen Frears (2009), starring Michelle Pfieffer.
6 to 25 November – L’ami des princes – photographic rendering
After removing more than 275 tonnes of plastic and waste from the Pacific Ocean since 2021, The Ocean Cleanup is now launching a system that can clear waste from an area the size of a football field every five seconds.
The Ocean Cleanup, the organisation that is taking on the mammoth task of eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, has become world famous for its innovative systems and pioneering approach to mass plastic and waste removal at sea.
After considerable success over the last few years, The Ocean Cleanup is now launching the third generation of its technology: an improved method that is able to remove “much larger quantities of plastic” at lowers costs.
According to the organisation, this latest technique will be 10 times more effective than the previous systems and is paving the way for the creation of a full fleet that will work around the clock to clean up the Pacific Ocean’s plastic problem.
The Ocean Cleanup’s System 03 in operation. Photo source: The Ocean Cleanup, Facebook
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating vortex of trash hovering in the north of the Pacific, between California and Japan, with Hawaii in the middle. It spans 1.6 million square kilometres, roughly three times the size of France. It is made up of two main hubs: one in the east and the other in the west. The two are linked together by the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, which is located a few hundred kilometres north of Hawaii.
Warm waters meet cooler waters in this zone, and together they form a sort of motorway that moves waste from one patch to another.
The new System 03
The Ocean Cleanup’s new technology will reportedly make it possible to eventually clean the entire area with just 10 “teams”, as well as the world’s other three garbage patches in the Indian, North Atlantic and South Atlantic oceans in the future.
The system is simple. It is comprised of a 2.2-kilometre-long floating barrier towed slowly between two vessels. The barrier reaches a depth of four metres below the surface, which is the zone where the majority of waste is to be found. It is then hauled aboard a main vessel where it is sorted for recyclability.
A barrier is towed between two vessels and the waste is sorted aboard another for recyclability. Photo source: The Ocean Cleanup
The organisation has even teamed up with automaker Kia, who has agreed to use plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the manufacturing of its electric vehicles. The Ocean Cleanup organisation has previously transformed collected waste into a line of sunglasses, which quickly sold out, as a way to using up the plastic it has hauled aboard its vessels.
The Ocean Cleanup has also addressed concerns about the impact its system could have on marine life by incorporating a marine animal safety hatch into System 03. Using underwater cameras, crew members can monitor the site and create an escape route for any animal that finds itself within the clean-up area.
This cost-effective and farther-reaching method has given Dutch CEO Boyan Slat reason to say that he believes that the plastic and debris in 90% of these zones could be gone by 2040.
“By making System 03 so much bigger than our previous efforts, alongside the multiple upgrades we’ve implemented, we can cover a much larger area of ocean in less time and using fewer resources,” reads a communiqué from The Ocean Cleanup. “This brings down our cost per kilogram of plastic removed and maximizes our benefit on the marine environment.”
The Ocean Cleanup has released a fascinating video of the actual work System 03 is doing, comparing the realtime with computer generated images from the design phase. The functioning is almost exactly as was anticipated, and seeing the two videos side by side gives more than a glimmer of hope that this problem is one that truly can be managed.
See the video for yourself:
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After starting in pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc found himself sandwiched between the two Red Bulls and was lucky to escape with only light damage. The Monegasque went on to place third, earning his 28th career podium.
It was a chaotic start at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Scuderia Ferrari’s duo, Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, began in a dominant position – P1 and P2 – but immediately felt the pressure of Red Bull’s Mav Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Carlos Sainz behind his teammate Charles Leclerc at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
All four cars battled down the long straight, but Sainz was the first to fall back, leaving his teammate Leclerc up front and between the two rival cars.
As the Ferrari and Red Bulls took the first corner, Leclerc and Perez made contact, resulting in extensive damage for the Mexican driver and an unexpected early retirement from the race.
Leclerc’s SF-23 sustained damage to the left front wing end plate, which eventually fell off. Despite the loss of downforce, he managed to hold on and achieve third place behind Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Sainz also experienced a tough race, but would eventually take a respectable fourth position.
“A tricky one”
“It was a tricky one,” said Leclerc post-race. “I was caught between the two Red Bulls at the start and unfortunately Checo (Perez) and I touched, which led to me picking up some damage on the car and to Checo retiring… Later on, we struggled a bit on the hards after the restart. Lewis (Hamilton) was really strong on the mediums and had very little degradation, getting ahead of us. It’s not where we wanted to finish, but we maximised our result.”
It was a hard-won 28th podium for Monaco’s F1 driver, 26-year-old Charles Leclerc. Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
Team Principal for Scuderia Ferrari, Frédéric Vasseur, admitted that it wasn’t the result he had been hoping for after a start on the front row for both his drivers.
“Given how the race was run, I think we almost did the best we could with our car today,” he said. “We knew the start would be tricky because of the long run to the first corner, in which the slipstream can have a big effect and for sure our start today was not ideal. We need to keep working to reduce the performance difference between our qualifying and race pace, given that, especially on the hards, we struggled too much compared to our rivals who were able to manage the tyres better than us.”
The race started P1 and P2 for Scuderia Ferrari’s two drivers, but ended P3 and P4. Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
Looking ahead
The grid will now be preparing to depart Mexico, which hosted the 20th race on the 23-Round calendar, and head to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit this coming weekend.
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The Promenade du Paillon is officially 10 years old, and as this remarkable oasis in the heart of Nice celebrates a decade of revitalising the cityscape, it is also gearing up for another era of expansion.
In the not-so-distant past, the bed of the Paillon River was where the washerwomen of Nice gathered. Gradually, however, the waterway was slowly covered up by a growing city, starting in 1867. Roads, squares, such as Place Masséna in 1881, and even entire neighbourhoods were erected over the ancient fleuve until it was fully concealed right down to the sea.
A decade ago, the now vibrant park space was an unremarkable site, serving as a bus station and a car park, amongst other concrete edifices. Then, on 26th October 2013, the big transformation began, led by Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi’s visionary project: the Coulée Verte.
The Promenade du Paillon traces the riverbed of the ancient waterway that flowed through Nice for centuries. Photo credit: Ville de Nice
Today, the former riverbed is revived, albeit in greenery rather than flowing water, and has developed a reputation as the “lungs” of the city.
With 7,000 different species, the park stands as a testament to biodiversity. Visitors and passersby can explore Mediterranean species like olive trees, vines and fig trees, as well as flora from far-flung destinations, from Oceania to South America, thanks to Nice’s mild climate.
“A real asset for our city, it values its natural heritage and offers a botanical journey across the continents,” says Estrosi.
One of its most well-known, and best-loved, features is the exceptional water mirror space, which measures more than 100 metres in length and is 30 metres wide. It is an engineering masterpiece, and its 132 water jets create a mesmerising spectacle that is particularly adored by the thousands of children who play in its cooling waters every summer.
The water mirror measures an impressive 106 metres by 30 metres. Photo credit: Ville de Nice
The next age of transformation
Beginning earlier this year with the demolition of the Acropolis exhibition centre, the next stage of the transformation of the Promenade du Paillon will add a further eight hectares of green space to its current 20 hectares.
Among the changes to come is a complete overhaul of the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain and the area surrounding the culture and arts centre. Additionally, in the space where the 70,000 tonnes of concrete that was the Acropolis congress centre once stood will be a tranquil reading garden complete with atmospheric ponds and pools.
In the Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny sector, a series of cisterns with a capacity equal to two Olympic swimming pools will be built to store rainwater. These cisterns will play a crucial role in making the Promenade du Paillon self-sufficient in water.
The city of Nice has pledged to plant more than 1,500 trees in the newest parts of the Promenade du Paillon, which will help remove 1,700 tonnes of CO2 annually.
In all, it will cost €75 million and is expected to reach completion at the end of 2025.
Embracing the future
As the Promenade du Paillon enters its next decade, it remains a cherished haven for the people of Nice, symbolising the city’s commitment to sustainable, nature-friendly urban development as well as a place for friends and families to come together.
The 20 hectares of public space have become a haven for families. Photo credit: Ville de Nice
“For its 10th birthday, I wish the same success for ‘Season Two’ of the Promenade du Paillon, which is one of the busiest places in our city,” says Estrosi.
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Towns and cities along France’s Mediterranean coastline will be taking part in a major tsunami alert operation this Friday, with the goal of informing the public what they should do and expect to happen in the event of an actual threat.
20 years ago, an underwater earthquake off the Algerian coast caused high waves and flooding throughout the Mediterranean, including on the Côte d’Azur and in Liguria.
In fact, there have been around 300 recorded tsunamis in the Mediterranean region since 1600BCE. Some of them have been devastating and have had serious repercussions on the lives of people living close to the water.
In line with World Tsunami Risk Awareness Day, which will officially take place on Sunday 5th November, nine departments along France’s Mediterranean coast have decided to organise a major tsunami warning operation on Friday 3rd November.
What to expect
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var will join the Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Hérault, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud for the exercise between 10am and 10.30am.
The operation is essentially a test of the preexisting tsunami warning and information system as well as an opportunity to increase public awareness.
The public isn’t required to do anything in particular, although feedback on the system may be requested via an online form.
People are also being asked to refrain from calling the police, emergency services, prefectures or town halls if and when they receive an SMS message linked to the tsunami alert system, as well as avoid posting or sharing “alarming” tsunami-related content on social media.
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Almost 80 million people visited France in 2022, making it the most popular international tourism destination in the world and bringing in a staggering €58 billion in revenue.
From the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre of Paris to the lavender fields and rosé vineyards of the glamourous Côte d’Azur, France has a lot to offer to its many millions of tourists, who continue to flock to L’Hexagone in huge numbers year-on-year.
Somewhere between 75 to 79 million tourists visited France last year; a figure higher than the number of people currently residing in France. Spain came a close second in the European rankings for popularity, with 71 million tourists, while the UK fell far behind its closest neighbour, with little over 30 million visitors.
For the French economy, this is great news, for when these visitors choose to come to France, they spend too.
A record €57.9 billion in tourism revenues were recorded by the Banque de France in 2022, up 2.1% on 2019, the last record-busting year, despite receiving 15 million fewer people.
The main reason being given for the huge numbers are the return of both the British and the North Americans, who, like the rest of the world, were recovering from the after-effects of lockdowns and travel restrictions, and were back in droves in 2022.
94 million tourists by 2025
France’s popularity is unlikely to wane, with GlobalData, a respected London-based analytics and consulting firm, predicting a 12% jump in international arrivals from 2022 to 2025 that could equal a mind-blowing 94 million people each year.
And France seems ready to welcome them. In a recent International Tourist Satisfaction Survey organised by the government, the country scored highly for its warm welcome, accommodation options, cultural and leisure facilities, and, of course, gastronomy.
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