Since the start of the year, purchases of used and second-hand bicycles have been eligible for part-funding under France’s bonus vélo scheme.
Prior to 1st January 2024, the bicycle subsidy initiative was exclusive to new models, but now it has been expanded to offer money back on the purchase of a bicycle new or used, including electric bikes, provided that they are bought from a professional or registered merchant.
The scheme continues to be means-tested, with the threshold for aid having been raised in 2023. While those with lower incomes can benefit from higher subsidies, up to €2,000 in some cases, all residents are entitled to some form of assistance.
A range of personal transportation falls under the scheme, from traditional pedal-powered bicycles to e-bikes, folding bikes and those adapted for people with disabilities.
Applications for money back under the bonus vélo must be submitted within six months of the bike’s purchase and can be processed online.
The full and updated details on the scheme can be found here.
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After more than two weeks off the pitch over the Christmas holidays, AS Monaco played their first game of 2024 against Racing Club de Lens at the Stade Bollaert on 7th January.
It was a tricky match that had initially looked to be in the bag for the Monaco side, as they quickly edged two goals up. The first was a stunner from captain Wissam Ben Yedder, who found the back of the net after just 33 seconds. 20 minutes later came the second goal, this time from Maghnes Akliouche.
Lens reduced the lead to 2-1 just before half-time, and returned from the changing rooms charged up with a series of attempts that eventually brought the northern French team success in the 62nd minute. The game remained 2-2 until the whistle blew.
Ultimately, and with a place in the Round of 32 of the Coupe de France on the line, the game came down to penalties.
PENALTY SHOOTOUT
After some very tense moments, the 700 Rouge et Blanc supporters who had made the trip to the Pas-de-Calais stadium could rejoice when Soungoutou Magassa scored with a blast into the top corner that sailed by Lens’ Brice Samba. He was the ninth AS Monaco player to take a penalty in what was a superb showing from both sides – and goalkeepers.
Post-match, AS Monaco manager Adi Hütter told reporters, “Opposite us, there was a great team, very combative, and we knew that we were dealing with a team worthy of the Champions League… I have also never seen a penalty shootout like this, with a lot of misses, but also a lot of saves. I would like to congratulate Radoslaw Majecki, but also Brice Samba, they both had a good match. We will now return to Monaco, with good energy.”
The win, which is AS Monaco’s fifth consecutive victory against Lens, puts the team through to the Round of 32 of the Coupe de France. It is also the 11th consecutive win of the team’s first game of the year since 2013!
AS Monaco next face Stade de Reims on 13th January at home in the Stade Louis II.
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Home to Monaco’s new community centre, the Villa Lamartine has been given a silver award from the Bâtiments Durables Méditerranéens de Monaco initiative for its commitment to sustainable and ecological practices during the build phase of the overall renovation project.
The Bâtiments Durables Méditerranéens de Monaco (BD2M) initiative was launched in October 2018 by the Monegasque government in conjunction with environmental organisation EnvirobatBDM.
It was designed as a “bespoke sustainable construction initiative, based on sharing skills and experience and an interdisciplinary, cross-cutting approach” that rewards property developments and those behind them for the integration of sustainability and eco principles into the overall design and construction phases of a project. The BD2M scheme also offers a third level of certification for the “end use” of a project.
Following a silver level award for the design phase of the project back in 2021, the Villa Lamartine has now been rewarded for its efforts during the construction phase with a second second silver award under the BD2M scheme.
AN “EXEMPLERY RENOVATION”
Being granted silver for the first two phases has earned the developers commissioned by the Mairie de Monaco kudos from the Monegasque government’s Mission for Energy Transition (MTE), which has since touted the “the environmental and energy advantages of this exemplary renovation”.
The building was designed using a bioclimatic and sustainable development approach, which will help reduce energy consumption, improve internal air quality, acoustics and thermal comfort, and optimise water management, among other significant advantages.
The Villa Lamartine is the first municipal building in Monaco to obtain a BD2M silver level certification.
In the 13tharrondissementof Paris, a vibrant cultural quarter of the city, a street has been named in honour of the late British icon. Rue David Bowie, found at the intersection with Avenue Pierre-Mendès-France, is to be inaugurated on 8th January.
On what would have been the influential singer-songwriter’s 77th birthday, the French capital will be officially inaugurating a street in his honour.
Bowie’s first ever concert appearance outside of the UK was in City of Lights back in 1965, when the then-18-year-old played alongside his band, The Lower Third, at the Golf-Droit, at the time a hotspot for up and comers in the music industry.
Although the larger-than-life singer died in 2016, just two days after his 69th birthday, his unique style continues to inspire generations of all ages and, in his wake, Bowie has left a trail of fans and admirers that spans the globe, including in Paris.
His legion of fans there is ever faithful, leading to the dedication of a street name in memory of the icon in the 13th arrondissement.
“Proud of this long-standing link with the artist, the City of Paris is continuing this legacy by inaugurating a Rue David Bowie in the capital’s 13th arrondissement, eight years after his death,” announced city authorities in a press release published on 3rd January.
Rue David Bowie will be officially inaugurated on 8th January with a ceremony at the Salle des Fêtes from 7pm. The party is free to attend and will be hosted by Jérôme Soligny, with a concert by Clifford Slapper.
Additionally, the Galerie Athéna at the local mairie will be holding a free and public exhibition dedicated to Bowie until 14th January. Put together by photographer Geoff MacCormack and painter George Underwood, both childhood friends of the artist, it will offer personal insights into the life of the great man.
For more information on Bowie-related events in Paris, click here.
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One is a Parisian interior architect, the other is a Monegasque interior designer. Together, they have built a budding empire designing the interiors of luxury hotels, private residences and upscale restaurants in primate locations around the world, but it was in Monaco that Emil Humbert and Christophe Poyet got their start.
Emil Humbert, who is a CFAI interior architect, had been in the midst of finishing his studies at the prestigious Académie Charpentier in his native city of Paris when he met his future business partner.
“He had studied interior design in Paris as well,” he says of Christophe Poyet, who is a certified DPLG architect and a former student of the Ecole Nationale d’Architecture Paris-Belleville. “When Christophe graduated, we worked together on a first residential project in the Carré d’Or [of] Monaco. It worked out really well, and the Humbert & Poyet agency was born.”
A glimpse of one of Humbert & Poyet’s residential projects in Monaco. Photo credit: Francis Amiand
That was in 2007, and for the next 15 years, the duo has collaborated on project after illustrious project in the Principality and, gradually, further afield.
“In the detail to the max”
The Humbert & Poyet style is versatile yet recognisable. Rich in detail and texture, monochromatic in one setting, but vibrant and opulent in another.
“It’s a flamboyant style that expresses joie de vivre and doesn’t shy away from anything,” says Emil. “We work on the effects of materials and textures, combining them together.”
“We work in detail to the max,” adds Christophe. “For example, we’ll highlight a wood by combining it with brass, or we’ll work with marble in three different ways – smooth, rough and bush-hammered – to juxtapose the tactile properties and shiny [or] matt effects of each material.”
The designers play with materials, texture and colour, but one element remains the same: the level of detail in their designs. Photo credit: Francis Amiand
This embracing of variety in materials and tones is what makes their style so adaptable to different projects, from the residential commissions that brought Humbert & Poyet into being to the restaurant scene that they dominate in the Principality.
Among those hospitality projects are: Izakaya Cozza, a chic rendering of Japanese cuisine with dashes of salmon-coral and gentle shoreline blue; Song Qi, with its ornate yellow gold against a delicious green velvet and striking monochrome backdrop; and the decadent, but firmly masculine Beefbar Monaco.
Beefbar, the flagship brand in the Riccardo Giraudi Hospitality Concepts group, took the Humbert & Poyet agency international.
The duo say that the Beefbar Milan address was particularly enjoyable to design as they were able to work within an important heritage space; it opened in early 2023 at the five-star Hotel Portrait Milano that is itself located in one of the oldest archiepiscopal seminaries in Europe, the Piazza del Quadrilatero.
Emil and Christophe have also worked on the bejewelled Paris branch, an Art Déco fantasy on the Rue Marbeuf, and Hong Kong’s sophisticated outlet, as well as the open-air Malta and Athens restaurants. Mexico’s Beefbar was also designed by the pair and offers perhaps the strongest echoes of the original.
“Our main focus always revolves around reconnecting the interiors with a certain space and time. It is important for us to preserve and maintain the soul of the restaurants, while enhancing their unique characters through timeless design elements.”
Asked about their future plans, Christophe reveals to Monaco Life, “The next one will be in New York and it is a Beefbar again! Located on the corner of two streets in the Tribeca district, the establishment is set in a stunning space of 3,500m2 space with Art Déco details, developed by Tribeca Hospitality Group.”
Their connections with Giraudi, easily one of Monaco’s biggest names in hospitality, run deeper than Beefbar, however, and the restaurant magnate has entrusted the design of several of his other addresses to Emil and Christophe, including Izakaya Cozza and Song Qi, but also establishments outside of the Principality.
Rich in natural materials and earthy tones: African Queen in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Photo credit: Claire Israel
One of the designers’ most recently completed projects is the legendary African Queen in nearby Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
“When talking about our approach to re-designing restaurants and more particularly the African Queen, our main focus always revolves around reconnecting the interiors with a certain space and time,” says Christophe. “It is important for us to preserve and maintain the soul of the restaurants, while enhancing their unique characters through timeless design elements. We tend to combine noble and natural materials whose textures and colors combine to create elegant and luxurious settings. “
Elsewhere in France, the strikingly urban Ultimate Provence resort, particularly given its rural vineyard setting in La Garde-Freinet, has Emil and Christophe to thank for its design as does the 55 Croisette boutique in Cannes.
With so many incredible projects already under their belt, it is hard to pick a standout, but the residential 26 Carré Or development on the Avenue de la Costa in Monaco is easily high on the list.
Emil Humbert and Christophe Poyet were given a carte blanche when it came to the interior design of the 26 Carré Or in Monaco. Photo credit: Francis Aimand
In conjunction with Monegasque architect extraordinaire Alexandre Giraldi, who designed the exterior, Emil and Christophe were gifted with the task of imagining the interior.
“The 26 Carré Or building in Monaco is probably one of our most favourite projects,” say the duo. “We were lucky to have a client, the Segond family, who trusted us completely to create a unique decor and give us total carte blanche.”
The stunning realisation of their design won Emil and Christophe an esteemed FD100 award, which was given to them personally by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palais de L’Élysée.
“It was a very special moment for us,” they tell Monaco Life.
The 26 Carré Or project is a reflection of their unique aesthetic: “a flamboyant style that expresses joie de vivre and doesn’t shy away from anything.” Photo credit: Francis Amiand
After New York and the next installment in their Beefbar partnership, there are still more private residences, hotels and restaurants in the pipeline in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Asia for the designers.
“We are both based in Monaco, but we have to travel a lot to check the construction sites of our projects,” say the pair. “We are open to all challenges. For example, a dream project would be a grand Italian villa or palazzo in Tuscany as we have loved working on projects that incorporate heritage, such as the Beefbar Milan… Indeed, the Coquelicot, A Belmond Boat project is our first venture into boating design. We would love to do a superyacht in Monaco!”
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AS Monaco has strengthened its defence with the arrival of Thilo Kehrer, who comes to the Principality side on loan from West Ham United Football Club.
With the move, the 27-year-old German international, who has 27 caps for his country, is making a notable return to Ligue 1 after a previous stint in the league with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), where he spent four successful seasons.
Kehrer’s journey started in Germany with FC Schalke 04. He quickly made a name for himself, leading to his professional debut in 2016. His standout performances at Schalke, especially during the 2017-2018 season, played a crucial role in the team’s success in the Bundesliga.
The legendary PSG soon took notice, signing him in 2018. Under Thomas Tuchel, Kehrer became an important and versatile part of the team, contributing to three Ligue 1 titles and a memorable Champions League final run in 2020.
Post-PSG Kehrer joined West Ham in 2022 at just the right time for “a historic season for the Hammers” that saw the English side claimed its first European title in almost 60 years.
At AS Monaco, Kehrer will sport the Number 5 jersey. He will stay with the Principality’s team until the end of the year, but an option to buy the player has been included in the deal with West Ham. The fee is reported to be in the region of €11.5 million.
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