With the White Pirate preparing to set sail on a two-week philanthropic adventure along the French Riviera at the end of the summer holidays, the mission’s Georges-Olivier Kalifa and the Michel Pastor Group have begun collecting donations for the Lenval Foundation.
On 28th August, the White Pirate, portrayed by the Editor-in-Chief of La Gazette, Georges-Olivier Kalifa, will be casting off on his annual mission to raise funds and collect presents and gifts for the children cared for by the Lenval Foundation.
Over the next few weeks, wooden chests will appear in harbours and marinas right along the coast, as well as in tourism offices and partnered establishments between Cassis and Menton. The public is being invited to deposit new toys, games, books and comics in these chests, which will be collected by the White Pirate at the close of the summer holidays. Scheduled stops include visits to Monaco, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Antibes and Saint Tropez. Click here for a full site of the chests’ locations.
The donated items will then be given to the Lenval Foundation staff on 9th September, who will distribute the items among the young patients in their care.
The White Pirate will begin his 15-day mission from Cassis to Monaco on 28th August. Photo supplied
“The Michel Pastor Group has been supporting the White Pirate since the inception of this wonderful initiative, which has been a tremendous success, with over 10,000 donations collected in four summers,” says Jean-Baptiste Pastor, President and CEO of the Michel Pastor Group. “The White Pirate’s activities positively impact thousands of children… We wish to continue this commitment. [It] is more than just a philanthropic gesture, it’s the opportunity to bring smiles to faces at a critical and often complex time in our children’s lives.”
The Lenval Foundation is a public utility that provides comprehensive healthcare and social services to children throughout the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. The hospital in Nice is an internationally renowned paediatric centre that manages as many as 55,000 emergency visits and 15,000 hospitalisations annually.
Following the journey
The public at large, as well as the patients themselves, will be able to follow the White Pirate on his mission as he will be making live broadcasts on his social media platforms and website for the duration of his mission.
“The idea is to extend the hospital walls so that everyone can participate,” explains Kalifa. “It is a true sea adventure lasting over 15 days, during which we reconnect with our inner child to create a unique story full of surprises and twists. Through these short videos, we virtually take the children into a world of pirates, games and gifts, using all the elements that build a true modern-day epic.”
The local leg of the journey, from Cap d’Ail to Monaco, will take place on 7th September. After a quick rest, the White Pirate will board his boat for a final excursion and make the trip to Nice to deliver the gifts on 9th September.
The Monaco branch of Banque Havilland has entered into acquisition negotiations with an unnamed private bank in the Principality, amid reports the European Central Bank is set to revoke the operating licence of its Luxembourg-based parent company.
Banque Havilland Monaco announced in a press release that it had entered into negotiations on 25th July for the acquisition of its shares.
“The purpose of this negotiation is to secure a long-term and sustainable solution to ensure the continuity and excellence of its banking services,” said the company.
On Friday, the Financial Times revealed that the European Central Bank (ECB) is set to revoke the operating licence of Banque Havilland, a Luxembourg-based bank owned by David Rowland, financial adviser to Prince Andrew. The bank, which has been involved in multiple regulatory probes and compliance failures, has reportedly been informed of this draft decision.
Once finalised and approved by the ECB’s board, Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier will officially revoke the licence, ceasing the bank’s operations in Europe.
Banque Havilland has faced numerous controversies, including compliance issues, leading to fines from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. The bank’s branches outside the ECB’s jurisdiction, such as in Monaco, Dubai and Switzerland, may continue operating, though they face restrictions and scrutiny from local regulators.
Banque Havilland Monaco has not named the private company with whom it is negotiating, but said that “the transaction, with an independent private bank with one of the highest solvency ratios in the industry with excellent track record in Monaco, would be perfectly in line with the bank’s development strategy.”
A signing is expected by the end of 2024, while the transaction is subject to approval by relevant regulatory authorities.
According to its 2023 financial statements, Banque Havilland has assets of just over €1.35bn and a €463mn loan book.
Team Brady has clinched victory at E1 Monaco 2024 and reclaimed the top spot in the E1 World Championship standings after an exciting weekend of electric powerboat racing in the waters off Port Hercule.
The E1 World Champion, the world’s first all-electric championship for powerboats, made its debut in the Principality on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July.
Rodi Basso, the CEO and co-founder of E1, said, “To see our revolutionary electric racing series come to life in the capital of yachting is an extraordinary feeling. The weekend provided a spectacular racing festival and an opportunity to instigate change and accelerate our mission to work with partners to develop clean technologies for marine mobility.”
After a series of intense and technical courses in Monaco’s Mediterranean waters – and some very testing qualifying rounds – Team Brady and its pilots Sam Coleman and Emma Kimiläinen emerged as the winners of this stage of the event as Tom Brady, NFL legend and the owner of the team, watched on from the Yacht Club de Monaco
“It’s great to see the team win here in Monaco,” said the former American football quarterback. “The teamwork has been incredible. We’ve been grinding through different issues all weekend, but we proved again that we can deal with any conditions. I am so proud of Emma, Sam, the whole team, and our resilience. I have full confidence, and we’re going to keep fighting. I love our team and what we are doing.”
Left to right: Emma Kimiläinen, Tom Brady and Sam Coleman celebrate their win in Monaco. Photo by Monaco Life
In second place came Team Drogba, which is owned by football icon Didier Drogba, for whom it was the first podium finish of the season. They were closely followed by Rafael Nadal’s Team Rafa in third.
Highlights of the competition
The finals saw the Team Brady, Team Rafa, Team Blue Rising, Team Drogba and Westbrook Racing go head-to-head.
In the first race, Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq of Team Drogba secured first place, finishing over 15 seconds ahead of Team Brady.
Spurred on by a desire to improve on their fifth place in the first race, Team Rafa returned to the port arena with full power for Race 2. The team’s Tom Chiappe secured the win and gave the Nadal-backed side a place on the podium for the first time since Jeddah in February.
Team Brady’s two second-place finishes were enough to give the team the edge and they ascended to the top spot on the podium, where Prince Albert II of Monaco personally handed over the winning trophy.
The event also saw the season’s first yellow cards in the Championship’s history be issued to Team Aoki and Sergio Pérez E1 Team for dangerous driving. Meanwhile, Team Miami, who had been leading the rankings, was eliminated in the Race Off, while Team Brazil was eliminated just before the finals.
Lisa Battaglia, a Monegasque pilot for Team Blue Rising, told Monaco Life, “It was a dream to compete in this race, and I saw my family during the race. It’s a beautiful, sustainable and equal event as pilots are both women and men. I hope for a podium for the next race in three weeks as, for now, we don’t have a podium.”
The next E1 Championship will take place on Lake Como between 23rd and 24th August.
To watch some of the E1 Monaco 2024 action, check out the Monaco Life Instagram reel below:
After numerous delays, a November launch date has been set for the EU’s new Entry/Exit System. Known as EES, it is hoped that the system will enhance border security and data accuracy while reducing illegal overstays and waiting times for travellers.
The automated system for registering all travellers from third countries, both those coming on short-stay visas and those who are visa-exempt each time they cross an EU external border, had been due to come into force on 6th October, but that date has now been pushed back to 10th November 2024.
There has been no official word on the cause of this most recent delay, but it is believed that some EU member states have requested more time to prepare themselves for the new system, which will eliminate the need for border stamps in passports but increase security measures in other areas.
How it works
Once operational, the EES will register a non-EU visitor’s name, travel document, biometric data and the date and place of entry and exit “in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection” for a three-year period.
The system will automatically track these individuals’ movements across external borders, ensuring that non-EU visitors to the bloc remain in compliance with the current 90/180-day rules on stays, which stipulates that these types of visitors are allowed to remain in the EU for 90 days out of every 180-day period.
In addition to EES, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, or ETIAS, is estimated to launch during the first half of 2025. ETIAS will require visa-exempt travellers, including those from the UK, to apply for a travel authorisation before their trip. The application will cost €7 for adults aged 18 to 70, and will be valid for three years.
Delays?
As all non-EU travellers—regardless of visa status—will need to register for either EES, ETIAS or both, border entry delays are anticipated in the early days of the two systems as many airports in the EU say they simply aren’t ready to implement the new rules.
Despite this, the European Commission has high hopes for the system, with representatives saying, “EES will contribute to preventing irregular migration and help protect the security of European citizens. The new system will also help bona fide third-country nationals to travel more easily while also identifying more efficiently over-stayers as well as cases of document and identity fraud. In addition to this, the system will enable a wider use of automated border control checks and self-service systems, which are quicker and more comfortable for the traveller.”
Ahead of his attempt to swim the 180 kilometres from Calvi to the Principality in 72 hours, Monaco Life’s Niki Borisova met with Swiss endurance swimmer Noam Yaron to learn about the motivations behind this incredible quest.
Next month, Noam Yaron, a 27-year-old endurance swimmer, will dive into the waters of the Mediterranean in Calvi, Corsica, and begin a long 180-kilometre swim to Monaco. He will be hoping to break the record for the route by completing the journey in roughly 72 hours, as well as raise awareness on an array of environmental issues.
“Water is a part of me as I’ve been swimming since I was eight years old,” says Yaron, who found his way into the sport following a childhood injury sustained during judo training. “I was terrible at swimming at first, to the point where my coach told me I shouldn’t continue, but that just pushed me to say that one day I will become national champion, quite a statement for a nine-year-old.”
Nine years later, Yaron fulfilled his dream and became a national champion at the age of 18. Since then, he has proved himself time and time again as a competent and confident endurance swimmer.
In 2021, he completed an approximately 80-kilometre swim across Lake Geneva, swam across the five largest lakes in Switzerland in 2022 and participated in one of the world’s biggest triathlon events in 2023, an event that covered more than 750 kilometres and 13,000m of elevation in just seven days.
Swiss endurance athlete Noam Yaron has already participated in a number of long distance challenges, but the Calvi to Monaco swim will be his first at sea. Photo supplied
Yaron’s next adventure, the Calvi to Monaco project, will be held during the month of August. He hopes to set a new record for the longest swim in a wetsuit without exiting the water, and he will also be swimming day and night in a bid to complete the swim in record time.
But this is more than a personal challenge, it is part of a broader campaign to raise awareness on environmental issues, particularly water preservation and biodiversity.
“The Mediterranean Sea is very close to my heart”
“For me, doing all these challenges is a way to actively spread awareness and collect funds to create an impact in the long term,” he shares. “The Mediterranean Sea is very close to my heart. [The location of] my very first challenge, Lake Geneva, is connected to the Mediterranean Sea through a river, which is well known to be very polluted. This creates a real link between my first and my upcoming challenge.”
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world, and recent studies have indicated that only 0.23% of its waters are under significant protections (being fully or highly protected).
Yaron has aligned his swim with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, which aims to achieve these significant protections for at least 10% of the EU’s seas by the end of the decade, and he has partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“It’s very important for me to promote best practices to the general public so that we can avoid polluting these waters and have a more sustainable consumption of water and plastic, one of the most polluting objects related to humankind,” he explains.
He is also hoping to encourage authorities in this part of the Mediterranean to implement a speed limit for the shipping companies that traverse the waters of the Pelagos Sanctuary between France, Monaco, Italy and Corsica.
“This would help the marine species as it would reduce the possibility of collision with these boats,” he says.
In preparation
With a start date set for 18th August, Yaron is currently in the midst of his preparations for the swim.
“For me, what is very important is understanding the environment I will be swimming in,” he tells Monaco Life, before explaining how he will be undertaking two “dress rehearsals” ahead of the challenge. For the first, he will try to swim between 12 and 24 hours with the goal of experiencing a day through night swim.
On top of the physical demands, the Calvi to Monaco swim will be Yaron’s first swimming challenge in the Mediterranean’s salty waters, a completely different environment to his previous lake-based swims.
“There are so many parameters that I need to consider,” he says.
Yaron’s advantage is that through his previous feats, he has built up incredible endurance, making his body capable of swimming through prolonged periods.
“This does give me confidence to complete this crossing,” he says.
Regarding mental preparation, Yaron has a perhaps surprising take on the stresses of the challenge, saying, “Being stressed in the water keeps me awake.”
Environmental factors also play a big role in his preparation, as a suitable weather window, something Yaron didn’t need to prepare for before, must be found, and the motion of the currents must be favourable.
“Wind, of course, also plays a key role as it predicts the currents on the surface and potentially the next phase of waves,” he explains.
As such, the swim is scheduled for any time between 18th and 31st August, and he hopes to arrive at Le Meridien Beach Plaza in Monaco well before 3rd September.
He has a strong team behind him, people he has worked with before, and says, “It’s reassuring to know you are in good hands.”
Collective philanthropy
For this swim, and with future endeavours in mind, Yaron has launched an innovative fundraising website platform developed in collaboration with Ufoundation, a non-profit fintech company, that allows individuals to symbolically contribute to preserving the marine environment by purchasing sections of the 180,000 cubic meters along the swim route, thus becoming co-owners of the longest swim title. Each cubic meter, except the first and last, is available for a nominal fee, contributing to the broader goal of marine conservation.
“The goal is to gather people around the cause and to be a part of something big,” said Yaron.
After the swim, a group of experts will gather to evaluate a number of water conservation and biodiversity protection projects that are in need of funding. The “co-owners” of the swim will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite project, and the winning project will receive the funds collected by Yaron’s supporters.
“What we are trying to build through this platform is collective philanthropy,” he says.
Looking ahead
He has already reached 15 million people through the website and its awareness campaign, saying, “It’s one of the most impactful and successful awareness campaigns using sports, and we see that it is confirming the method of communication.”
With a large social media following of more than 360,000 and a monthly reach of up to 6.4 million on Instagram alone, Yaron hopes to continue spreading awareness using his social media presence.
“Hopefully, I will also set a new challenge for 2026, with new funding, new ideas and new goals,” he reveals.
To find out more about Noam Yaron’s swim challenge and his goals for the project, click here.
Making good on its pledge to adopt an EU-wide digital Schengen visa application process by 2026, France has put itself ahead of the curve and launched a new digital system that connects L’Hexagone with 126 countries around the world.
Initiated by the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas Territories and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the new France-Visas system is now fully deployed.
The system was initially designed as a convenient online platform for obtaining student visas or checking visa requirements for visitors to France, but has evolved into a comprehensive digital visa hub, a first in the EU.
In 2023, EU member states including France voted to transition to an EU-wide online format for Schengen visa applications by 2026, with a five-year grace period.
However, in light of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games – and the 70,000 visa requests made by athletes, their support teams, the media and fans – the French state decided to act early and launch the new system ahead of time.
According to the government, “This single system manages all visa applications for France, processing more than three million applications annually via 151 consular posts in 126 countries. France-Visas allows a fully digital, secure and seamless application process, covering all types of visas.”
For more information or to apply for a visa in France, click here.
