Génération Monaco, the political party led by Marc Mourou, held its sixth conference evening on Wednesday at the Novotel on boulevard Princesse Charlotte, drawing a full house of 180 attendees for a wide-ranging panel discussion on the environment — a mobilisation that Mourou described as “an enormous success.”
The environment follows health, attractiveness, education, sport and culture as the themes addressed in Génération Monaco’s ongoing conference series. Mourou described it as a subject “so dear to Monaco and important for the future of our country.”
Six Monegasque voices on one stage
The panel brought together six specialists, all Monegasque, covering a broad range of expertise: wildlife protection, sustainable construction, sustainable finance, circular economy and sustainable development. Christophe Blanchy, former head of collections at the Jardin Exotique and specialist in the protection of Monaco’s fauna and flora — whose photographs were displayed at the entrance to the room — was joined by Evelyne Shick-Tonelli, president of Ecopolis and founder of Radio Ethic, dedicated to ecology. Monegasque architect Benjamin Boisson, who specialises in eco-responsible construction and is leading the Larvotto upper boulevard project, also took part, alongside Jeremy Genin, director of research and investment in sustainable finance at Monaco Asset Management, Eddy Djhekar-Rinaldi, an engineer specialising in sustainable and smart buildings, and Nicolas Ménier, vice-president of Green Monaco, which supports public and private actors in circular economy and reuse initiatives.
Mourou noted the “osmosis on stage between speakers who serve the same cause — profiles dedicated to making Monaco as eco-responsible a country as possible.” The presentations were followed by more than an hour of questions and audience discussion.
Monaco’s environmental commitments
Isabelle Curau-Bloch, a member of Génération Monaco’s steering committee, provided a comprehensive overview of what is already in place across the Principality, highlighting Prince Albert II’s personal commitment through his Foundation, which marks its 20th anniversary this year. She noted that Monaco is a signatory to several international conventions and has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% against a 1990 baseline by 2030. By 2023, the Principality had already achieved a 41.1% reduction.
The next Génération Monaco conference takes place on 9 June, on the theme of security and Monaco’s defence in a geopolitical context.
Ten children from the Institution François d’Assise–Nicolas Barré joined Prince Albert II Thursday in the Jardins Saint-Martin for a symbolic photograph marking the 10th edition of the Flowers for Bees campaign, alongside Thierry and Arnaud Dufresne, respectively the founding President and Vice-President of the Observatoire Français de l’Apidologie.
The 10-year-olds had been introduced to the role of bees in pollination by the OFA the previous year, making the gathering a reunion of sorts — a moment connecting their classroom learning to the broader campaign they had been part of.
Launched in 2017 by the Observatoire Français de l’Apidologie with the support of Prince Albert II and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Flowers for Bees encourages the public to sow nectar-rich flowers to feed bees and preserve biodiversity. Since its creation, more than 1.5 million seed packets have been distributed and numerous wildflower meadows established across France and beyond.
The 10th edition runs from 9th to 24th May 2026, with the campaign continuing to make the case that individual gestures — however small — matter in the fight against the decline of pollinators.
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset held a series of high-level meetings with Monaco government officials during his two-day visit to the Principality on 8th and 9th April, as preparations intensify for Monaco’s forthcoming presidency of the Committee of Ministers from 15th May to 10th November 2026.
After being welcomed to the Palace by Prince Albert II, Alain Berset met separately with National Council President Thomas Brezzo and Samuel Vuelta Simon, Secretary of State for Justice, with discussions centring on Monaco’s commitment to the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy — the three pillars at the core of the Council of Europe’s work.
He also addressed Monaco’s annual diplomatic conference, bringing together the Principality’s ambassadors, where he outlined the major challenges currently facing the Council of Europe in a shifting geopolitical landscape and highlighted the close relationship of trust between Monaco and the organisation.
A joint press conference with Minister of External Relations and Cooperation Isabelle Berro-Amadeï set out the priorities that will guide Monaco’s presidency, under the thematic thread: ‘The protection of all, through an effective organisation, to meet contemporary challenges’.
A hand-drawn sketch by Norman Foster — the architect’s own original drawing of the Yacht Club de Monaco, one of the most architecturally significant buildings the Principality has ever commissioned — is now on the shelves across Monaco, printed on the latest limited-edition bottles from local water brand Monacqua.
The collaboration was unveiled on Thursday 9th April at the Yacht Club de Monaco itself, in the presence of Princess Alexandra of Hanover. For Monacqua founder Geeta Kalwani, the moment was almost overwhelming. “To be launching this bottle in the actual Yacht Club, where this image was conceived, supported by the mind that actually conceived of the Yacht Club — I am incredibly proud,” she says.
The bottles are available across both glass and carton formats at standard retail pricing — a deliberate decision by Monacqua founder Geeta Kalwani to make the collaboration accessible to everyone, not just collectors.
Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti
An architect who shaped Monaco’s identity
Norman Foster’s relationship with Monaco is one of the most consequential architectural partnerships the Principality has known. Completed in 2014, the Yacht Club de Monaco transformed the harbour front and redefined Monaco’s relationship with the sea — a building so rooted in its setting that it has come to feel less like an addition to Monaco and more like an expression of what the Principality aspires to be. Praised internationally as a landmark of sustainable high-tech design, it cemented Foster’s place as one of the defining architectural voices in Monaco’s modern history, alongside a body of work across the Principality that spans more than two decades.
Foster himself is among the most decorated architects alive. A Pritzker Prize laureate, a holder of the Order of Merit — one of the most exclusive honours in the world, restricted to just 24 living recipients and awarded solely at the personal discretion of the Sovereign, his buildings define skylines across continents: the Gherkin and Millennium Bridge in London, the Hearst Tower in New York, Apple Park in Cupertino.
That a three-year-old Monaco water brand now carries his hand-drawn work is, by any measure, a remarkable thing.
“There is something very personal about a hand-drawn image, a closeness to the mind at work,” says Kalwani. “I particularly love the subject, as it speaks to the meeting of two things I hold dear: the sea and sustainability.”
Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti
A sketch, a Prince and an unexpected discovery
When the Yacht Club was completed, Foster presented Prince Albert II with a personal gift: the original sketch — the hand-drawn image that first imagined the building into existence. It is that same drawing that now appears on Monacqua’s bottles.
Kalwani did not know this when the collaboration began. She discovered it only when the bottles were presented to the Prince — a detail that gave the project a resonance it had not been designed to carry, and that speaks to how deeply Foster’s vision is woven into the fabric of Monaco.
Prince Albert II wrote to Kalwani ahead of the launch, expressing his conviction that the collaboration would further Monacqua’s commitment to Monaco’s cultural influence.
Culture in a bottle
At the heart of Monacqua is a belief that everyday life can be touched by joy when it is infused with art, design and culture — and that this should not be the preserve of collectors or gallery-goers. It is a philosophy that has shaped the brand’s decision to collaborate with some of the world’s most significant cultural figures, beginning with artist George Condo in 2025 and now with one of the defining architects of our time. By bringing Foster’s work onto a bottle that sits on a café table or a supermarket shelf, Monacqua is making the luxury of culture genuinely accessible.
Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti
The brand behind the bottle
Monacqua is three years old, founded in Monaco by Geeta Kalwani — a mother of three with a double master’s degree from Sciences-Po Paris and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, who has lived across a dozen countries and speaks eight languages. The brand began, she says, because she wanted pure water for her children, free from toxins. What she built is considerably more than that.
The water is sourced from two ancient European springs — one in Germany, one in Italy — both traceable to Roman times and certified free from nitrates, arsenic and contamination. It is sold in glass and carton formats, with the cartons 75% biodegradable and fully recyclable through Monaco’s yellow bin system. The brand is on track to sell approximately one million bottles annually, each one, as Kalwani puts it, a plastic bottle that was never made.
Monacqua also carries a formal partnership with the Princess Grace Foundation, contributing annually to support families of seriously ill children in paediatric hospitals in France. Last year those donations amounted to €10,000. A portion of every bottle sold goes directly to the Foundation.
Monacqua is proudly and deliberately local — born in Monaco, for Monaco, now accepting payment through Carlo, the Principality’s own digital currency.
Competing as a small independent against the giants of the bottled water industry is not without its challenges, but Kalwani is clear-eyed about what has driven the brand’s growth. “When I launched the business I was not thinking of necessarily making it profitable — I just wanted a good solution for the market, my children and the local community, because I just wasn’t happy with the plastic bottles around.
“But slowly the volume grew, and that’s thanks to the people themselves. The market has loved us, and the people are more powerful than anything else. We are here with a purpose — to have pure water, well packaged, and spread the word of culture. But I could not have been here without the support of the people.”
The papal seal of approval
The most striking testament to the brand’s standing in Monaco came not through a commercial decision but through one it knew nothing about. On 28th March 2026, during the historic visit of Pope Leo XIV — the first papal visit to Monaco in five centuries — the Monegasque government quietly chose Monacqua to provide water for the 15,000 people who attended the mass at the Stade Louis II. Kalwani found out only afterwards, when friends and clients began sending her photographs of the bottles in the crowd.
“We were numb with joy,” she says.
Auction specialist Simon de Pury perhaps said it best: “In less than two years, and in no small part thanks to its stellar artist collaborations, Monacqua has already attained cult status. It took Château Mouton Rothschild a little longer.”
The Norman Foster x Monacqua limited-edition bottles are available now across cafés, restaurants and supermarkets in Monaco.
Neither Jannik Sinner nor Carlos Alcaraz had things all their own way on Thursday but both progressed against in-form opponents to remain on-track for a meet-up in the final of this year’s Monte-Carlo Masters.
Whilst Sinner and Alcaraz have created something of a duopoly in world tennis, there was a reminder that neither were infallible as both were tested on the clay of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. “I found myself in a difficult position,” admitted Sinner after his win over Tomas Machac. The Czech found himself in hostile surroundings, with his fans drowned out by another strong Italian following. However, he came into this tournament with confidence, having won his second ATP title just last month.
Machac may not have bettered Sinner but he did at least shatter the prevailing feeling of invincibility. On Wendesday, Daniil Medvedev suffered a humbling ‘Double Bagel’ on Court Rainier III (6-0, 6-0), and when broken on his first two service games by Sinner, he may have briefly feared a familiar fate. Winning one service game spared him (6-1), but didn’t provide hope of a challenge.
Sinner walking off court at the MCCC. Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life
Yet Machac did resist. Sinner missed a break point in the second game before his Czech opponent then fought back. Broken a first time, the Italian crowd tried to lift their national icon later in the set. However, he would succumb to a second break of serve (5-2). It was a long way back for Sinner to prevent ceding his first set in a Masters event since Shanghai back in October, a run extending an incredible 37 sets.
He did roar back, breaking Machac twice to take the second set to a tie-break, however, to the disappointment of the Tifosi, Machac would prevail (7-3) and take the match to a deciding set. Sinner regained his composure, broke Machac in the third game and then again in the ninth, avoiding a minor scare (6-1, 6-7, 6-3), but giving reason for optimism for Alcaraz, who needed to dispatch Tomás Etcheverry to secure his place in the quarter-finals.
As Sinner did earlier in the day, Alcaraz broke Etcheverry, who won his first-ever ATP event earlier this year, three times in the first set. His dominance was assured but then shaken in the second. The Spaniard, defending his title, was broken in the third game and then again in the fifth. An immediate reply in the sixth was in vain as No.30 seed Etcheverry saw out the second set (6-4).
Alcaraz teased an opening in the first game of the third set with a double double fault, but having held, the Spaniard then broke on Etcheverry’s first service game. As the sun began to set over centre court, Etcheverry’s hope dimmed, the error from the world’s No.1 not forthcoming. He would not go quietly into the night, denying two match points valiantly before falling on the third (6-1, 4-6, 6-3).
Alcaraz in action at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life
With Sinner and Alcaraz needing over two hours each to overcome their opponents, the sun had already set when Valentin Vacherot came out on Court Rainier III. After the emotion of beating world No.5 Lorenzo Musetti on centre court the night before (7-6, 7-5), the Monégasque had to dial back in progress to the quarter-finals at the expense of No.74 seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Monaco’s history-maker Vacherot moves into world top 20
Faltering on centre court against lower-ranked opponents became a trend on Thursday and Vacherot did not buck it, losing the first set (7-6). However, the Monégasque came charging back in the second (6-3). In a close game, prevailing in key moments was going to be key and it is in this domain that Vacherot had the upper hand. The Monégasque took four of his eight break points, Hurkacz just two of his 13 and the latter would rue his wastefulness. It was in the seventh game that Vacherot, after a gruelling 10 minutes, would take the lead, which, despite being led 40-15 when serving for the match, he would not concede (6-7, 6-3, 6-4).
With the clock ticking past 21:30, the Monégasque supporters, who savoured the high and lows of the nearly three-hour game, were rewarded with a memorable and historic victory. It is a win that sees Vacherot move into the top 20 in the world rankings, becoming the first Monégasque to do so. When he plays against Alex De Minaur in his quarter-final on Friday, despite playing on familiar clay, he will be in unknown territory. No Monégasque has ever gone this far in the competition. Records have tumbled, and Vacherot will want to continue to break even more before the week is out.
Monaco’s official fashion event, the Monte-Carlo Fashion Week, runs from 14th to 18th April, with a programme spanning runway shows, conferences, a fashion hub and a gala dinner across some of the Principality’s most prominent venues.
The week opens on Tuesday 14th April with an official ceremony at the Mairie, where Mayor Georges Marsan will deliver the opening address, followed by the Monaco Woman Cocktail at Equivoque that evening.
Wednesday: shows at the Yacht Club
Wednesday 15th April is dedicated to fashion shows at the Yacht Club de Monaco, featuring international brands including Daphne Milano and Hyperlight Optics by Zepter, with a focus on eyewear and technological innovation. The Yacht Club will also present its own special collection. Young Monegasque-based Italian designer Isabel Fargnoli will mark the official Made in Italy Day, promoted by the Italian Embassy, before the evening closes with the headline Genny fashion show and an exclusive cocktail.
Thursday: sustainability, innovation and a fashion hub
Thursday 16th April shifts the focus to dialogue, with a series of conferences at the Yacht Club de Monaco. A roundtable organised in collaboration with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation will bring together designers and sustainability experts, including French designer Célia Roussin, who transforms vineyard residues into materials for fashion and perfumery, and Runa Ray of Kelptex — a US company that combines textile waste and seaweed into a biodegradable biofabric, nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize.
At 4pm, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, President of Ray-Ban and Chief Strategy Officer of EssilorLuxottica, takes part in a face-to-face conversation on responsible innovation and global inclusion. This is followed by Fashion’s Next Chapter, in partnership with the Monaco Chamber of Commerce, featuring Alessandro Binello, founder and Group CEO of Quadrivio Group, the private equity firm behind Twinset, GCDS, Dondup and several other fashion brands.
The Fashion Hub opens on Thursday at 1pm at Marius Monaco, presenting a selection of international brands including Crida Milano, Di Iorio, Presente Ancestral, Baiah and Yasmina Al Jaramani.
Friday: awards and a student show
On Friday 17th April, the Fashion Hub continues at Marius Monaco before the day’s centrepiece: the Polimoda fashion show at the Salle Leo Ferré, with scenography by Pavillon Bosio, Monaco’s Academy of Visual Arts. The evening culminates with the Fashion Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner at the Grimaldi Forum’s Grande Verrière, where the Positive Change Award will be presented to figures who have distinguished themselves for their ethical and innovative approach to fashion.
Saturday: the grand finale at the Grimaldi Forum
The closing day on Saturday 18th April brings a full programme of shows at the Grimaldi Forum. Twinset presents a ready-to-buy selection designed for the Côte d’Azur, followed by Kalfar, Beach & Cashmere Monaco by Federica Nardoni Spinetta — with a focus on circularity — Portuguese designer Diana Mara, and Yasya Minochkina with a collection inspired by Monaco and the French Riviera.
The final show belongs to Macy Grimshaw, a British designer with a master’s degree from Central Saint Martins whose work has already been worn by Emma Corrin, Paloma Elsesser, PinkPantheress and Harry Styles.
“This edition represents a key moment to promote an increasingly conscious and responsible fashion, capable of combining aesthetics, innovation, and ethical values,” said Federica Nardoni Spinetta, President of the Chambre Monégasque de la Mode.
