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Month: February 2024

French driving licences go digital

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/02/2024
digital driving licence

As of 14th February 2024, a digital form of all French driving licences can be applied for on the France Identity app and used in the place of the traditional card or paper format in a variety of day-to-day situations. 

The new system, which is free-of-charge and entirely optional, does not completely replace physical licences, but it does mean that motorists can use this convenient form of ID when stopped by law enforcement, for example.  

This alternative format should limit a person’s chances of losing their physical licence – or having it stolen – and allow standard formalities to be handled without the complete disclosure of a motorist’s personal data as well as combat online fraud.  

France’s Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories, Gérald Darmanin, says of the new service, “Thanks to the France Identity application, you will be able to download your driving licence to your phone. This device will not replace the physical version, but will complement it in order to simplify your life.”  

To add a digital driving licence to a smartphone, the holder of the licence must first download and sign up to the France Identity application. Then they must download a copy of their Relevé d’Information Restreint (RIR) from the Mes Points Permis website and use the provided QR code to upload their driving licence to the France Identity app.  

To present the licence to an official, a motorist need only open the app – no internet access is required – and select ‘Present your driving licence’. A contactless connection is then established between the police device and a motorist’s smartphone.  

The French government is in the process of broadening the uses of the France Identity app. In the future, it will be possible to use the app to store other useful documentation, such as car registration and insurance papers.  

Click here for more information.

 

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Photo source: Alexandre Boucher, Unsplash

France: Three days of train strikes to wreak havoc on travel by rail

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/02/2024

With Zone C schools already on their half-term breaks and Zone A soon to join them, the news of an incoming train strike couldn’t come at a worse time for the many thousands of families who have made travel plans for this weekend. 

Although Christophe Fanichet, the head of SNCF Voyageurs, says that the “most booked” trains will be prioritised, such as those travelling to and from the Alps for families and groups with ski holidays on the line, high-speed TGV connections are likely to be 50% operational at best over the weekend after a cross-section of railway unions called on ticket inspectors and other onboard staff to walkout.

Current estimations suggest that up to 90% of personnel will be participating. 

Fanichet, meanwhile, has pledged to uphold 85% of the journeys booked for the 9,000 minors due to use the SNCF’S Junior et Cie service for accompanied travel. He added that alternative services would be provided for the remaining 15% of the affected passengers.  

The motives behind the strike 

The unions are in an uproar over what members say are broken or unfulfilled promises made to them following agreements on wages, bonuses and retirement-related commitments that came in the wake of strikes in December 2022 

“We are discussing issues of remuneration, with the increase in a long-term and monthly work bonus, additional commitments on extending the end of careers and respecting the agreement signed in 2022,” Julien Troccaz, the Sud-Rail union’s Federal Secretary, told reporters on LCI. 

Fanichet, for his part, has called the walkout “incomprehensible” and says that “the company’s commitments… are being kept”. 

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has also weighed in on the situation, with some choice words reserved for the French “habit”, as he described it, of holding strikes.  

“The French are very attached to the right to strike,” he told the press. “They know that striking is a right, but I believe they also know that working is a duty. Especially when we must allow French people who work all year round [and] who for a few days want to reunite with their families and loved ones to be able to do so. I call for the greatest responsibility, once again, for the French.” 

A warning has been published on the SNCF website that reads: “SNCF travel will be significantly disrupted from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th February due to nationwide social action organised by onboard rail staff. We encourage passengers to verify the status of their trains and correspondences the evening before travel, from 5pm.” 

Local timetables can be found here.  

 

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Photo source: Matéo Broquedis, Unsplash

Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation forms global alliance for youth development

by: Niki Borisova
15/02/2024

In a move that will undoubtedly enhance the reach and scope of its Sport and Education programme, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has partnered with two esteemed organisations that share its goals of advocating for and promoting well-being in children.

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has formed a strategic alliance with the Al Oerter Foundation/Art of the Olympians and the Pierre de Coubertin Family Association.

“Sport inspires and gives us hope, it can unite people and nations,” said Princess Charlene of this latest stage of growth and expansion for her Foundation. “The alliance with the Al Oerter Foundation based in the United States and the Pierre de Coubertin Association based in Paris is an ideal opportunity to develop one of the priority missions of my Foundation to promote well-being and help children develop through educational projects and sports activities.”

Since its creation 12 years ago, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has helped enrich the lives of over 1.2 million children in 43 countries and has backed over 500 events.

“Two powerful universal languages: art and sport”

The Al Oerter Foundation, established in 2006 and named after Olympic gold medallist Alfred Oerter Jr., and the Pierre de Coubertin Family Association, for the ‘grandfather of the modern Olympic Games’, share the Princess Charlene Foundation’s vision of using art and sports to inspire and educate youth.

Cathy Oerter, the Al Oerter Foundation’s president, has expressed her enthusiasm for the new relationship, saying, “We are extremely honoured to have Princess Charlene and her team from the Monaco Foundation by our side.”

Alexandra de Navacelle de Coubertin, meanwhile, has also enthused over the partnership’s potential, saying, “Together, our three organisations can build and facilitate effective programmes to inspire children and communities around the world through two powerful universal languages: art and sport.”

As the 2024 Summer Olympic Games approach, the three entities are in the process of finalising plans for a range of activities that will promote their collective missions.

 

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Photo credit of Princess Charlene with Cathy Oerter (left) and Alexandra de Navacelle de Coubertin (right): Eric Mathon / Palais Princier de Monaco

 

Monaco addresses its transport issues: New direct bus from Fontvieille to Larvotto to be trialled

by: Stephanie Horsman
14/02/2024

With the release of the Monaco Government’s Plan Mobilité, which features a series of possible solutions to the Principality’s long-standing traffic issues, it has been announced that the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco (CAM) will soon begin testing a new direct bus route from Fontvieille in the west to Larvotto in the east. 

6.6 million passengers boarded CAM buses in 2023, a figure on par with pre-pandemic levels but less than the numbers recorded a decade ago.  

“We need to work on modal shift, from the car to public transport or soft mobility,” Monaco’s Minister of Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development, Céline Caron-Dagioni, said, adding that people “need not always use their car to get from A to B.” 

Her viewpoint on the situation is that if there are better connections and more convenient public transport options available, the general reliance of the population on cars and other light vehicles will decrease.  

See more: Monaco addresses its transport issues: More than 5,000 new Park and Ride carparking spaces in the works

The proposed Fontvieille-Larvotto line is one such way that the government is seeking to improve the existing network.  

“The bus can travel quickly, then suddenly get stuck in a traffic jam,” says Caron-Dagioni. “If it takes an hour to cross the Principality, that’s disappointing. [So] we’re going to test direct lines, the first linking Fontvieille to Larvotto along the seafront, with very few stops along the way.” 

The journey is expected to take just 15 minutes and will run on weekdays between 7am and 7pm. It will be called the Ligne 6D and start at the Stade Louis II before taking a coastal route via Avenue Kennedy to Larvotto and heading back along the Rue Grimaldi on the return trip. 

A start date for the trial line is yet to be announced.  

CAM will also introduce a dozen new Mercedes-built electric buses to the network in the coming weeks to expand its already considerable electric-powered fleet and add to the Principality’s arsenal of more ecologically sound travel alternatives. 

 

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Photo source: CAM, Facebook

Monaco addresses its transport issues: A green pedestrian corridor from north to south 

by: Elsa Carpenter
14/02/2024

As Monaco looks for ways to alleviate its traffic issues and cut down the number of vehicles on its roads, one solution could be as simple as improving pedestrian access in and around the Principality.

Following the unveiling of the Monaco Government’s Plan Mobilité, which has presented concepts such as increased Park and Ride facilities and a shake-up of the existing bus network as methods of easing traffic issues, a vision for a green corridor between the Jardin Exotique district in the northwest of the Principality and the bustling Condamine neighbourhood near Port Hercule has come to light.

“The Government has a vision for the landscape [of Monaco], biodiversity and quality of life,” say the authors of the report. “This involves preparing the Monaco of tomorrow for a better quality of life by promoting gentle mobility between neighborhoods thanks to pedestrian connections considered in advance within the framework of town planning ordinances.” 

Essentially, the idea is to improve on-foot connections between the main zones of activity in Monaco – the Palais Princier de Monaco, the business hub in Fontvieille, Place d’Armes, the Jardin Exotique, Monte-Carlo and the restaurant and hotel-rich Larvotto district, for example – by better considering the needs of pedestrians when planning out new projects and developments. 

But this also extends to the Monaco here and now, and the government has begun the planning stages of “reconnecting” the Jardin Exotique, a largely residential area, and the vibrant commercial quartier of the Condamine.  

The proposed route from the Jardin Exotique to the Condamine will necessitate the construction of several footbridges to allow pedestrians to safely and conveniently traverse major roads. Photo source: Monaco Government

As explained in the report, “The creation of landscaped pedestrian continuity and ecological connectivity between Boulevard de Belgique and Promenade Honoré II will notably make it possible to reconnect the entire neighborhoods.” 

The future route will benefit from generous planting to provide shade and respite from the heat for walkers, while public spaces offering “spectacular views of the Rock of Monaco” will be dotted along the walkway.

The Jardin Exotique-Condamine green corridor is the only pedestrian project detailed in the report, but there are hints that a network of dedicated pathways and cycle routes could one day sync up the Principality from north to south and from east to west.  

Read related:

Monaco addresses its transport issues: More than 5,000 new Park and Ride carparking spaces in the works

 

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Photo source: Kit Suman, Unsplash

Gut health under the microscope: Monaco conference to shed light on microbiome research

by: Niki Borisova
14/02/2024

The vital role of the gut microbiome in overall health and the prevention – or proliferation – of disease is to take centre stage at a conference at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco this week, which will see a leading expert in the field of  gastroenterology, Professor Philippe Marteau, present his latest discoveries and groundbreaking insights on the topic. 

Recent decades have transformed our perspective on the microorganisms that live in our gut. The term ‘intestinal microbiome’ – or more familiarly ‘gut microbiome’ – captures a complex ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that plays an essential role in digestion, immunity and general health.

At the upcoming ‘Intestinal Microbiome and Medicine: Research News and Practices’ talk, Professor Marteau will present the discoveries being made at the forefront of gastroenterology research.

“We’re establishing the complex relationships between the microbiome and factors such as age, sex, lifestyle and environmental exposures,” says Marteau, adding how the unique composition of each person’s microbiome can have a significant influence on an individual’s bodily functions in many ways.

“The microbiome coexists in balance with its host,” notes Dorotha Czeruska, a research director at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, emphasising the importance of this equilibrium for health, indicating that disturbances and imbalances can provoke clinical disorders.

Looking ahead to the conference, Marteau’s anticipation is clear: “Our expanding knowledge of the gut microbiome promises to transform our health management strategies.”

The conference is scheduled for Thursday 15th February at 6.30pm.. A live stream will also be accessible through here.

 

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Photo source: Unsplash