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Day: 18 August 2026

Boulevard Albert Ier to close for two days as Monaco hosts La Vuelta Grand Départ

by: Cassandra Tanti
18/08/2026
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Boulevard Albert Ier will be closed to traffic across Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd August as Monaco prepares to host the Grand Départ of La Vuelta 2026, with the Government urging residents and visitors to anticipate their journeys and expect disruption to bus services throughout the weekend.

On Friday 21st August, Boulevard Albert Ier will be shut to traffic from 6am to 2pm to allow the installation of the race’s finish-line infrastructure. The closure also affects the regular services of the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco, which will modify its routes accordingly. Passengers are directed to www.cam.mc for the revised itineraries.

Time trial day brings wider closures

The heaviest disruption falls on Saturday 22nd August, when Boulevard Albert Ier closes from 8am and the entire circuit of the individual time trial shuts to traffic at 12pm. The road network will reopen progressively from around 9pm to 9.30pm. Fuller details on the route and the running of the race are available at lavueltamonaco.gouv.mc.

The Saturday stage is a 9.6-kilometre individual time trial run entirely within the Principality. Starting from the Place du Casino, the course takes in the Moulins district, the Fairmont hairpin, Larvotto, Port Hercule and the Port of Fontvieille before finishing on the Grand Prix start-finish straight.

Free buses across the weekend

To ease movement around the closures, all Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco lines will be free of charge from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd August. The Government has thanked the public for their understanding and encouraged everyone to plan ahead, adding that it hopes to see large crowds turn out to celebrate the Grand Départ together.

The festivities run from Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd August, opening with the official presentation of the teams and riders on the Thursday. The second stage sets off on Sunday 23rd August, rolling out from the Place du Palais Princier before the official start at the Exotic Garden, as the peloton heads towards Manosque. The start marks a milestone for the Principality, which becomes the first place in the world to have hosted the opening stage of all three Grand Tours, having previously staged the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

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Photo source: Government Communications Department

 

‘From Asia to La Turbie’: Village exhibition to celebrate global artistic influences

by: Virginia D’Umas
18/08/2026

The village of La Turbie is set to become a hub for global artistic dialogue this weekend as it launches ‘From Asia to La Turbie’, a community-led exhibition running on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August.

Organised by the town hall, the showcase transforms the village square and the Council Chamber into an open gallery, presenting a diverse range of mediums from paintings and sculptures to photography and hand-crafted pieces.

Creativity meets a good cause

Beyond the art itself, the weekend carries a philanthropic mission. The exhibition has partnered with Fondation Flavien, a local charity dedicated to the fight against paediatric cancers, with representatives joining artists and visitors at the official opening vernissage on Saturday at 5:30pm.

Visitors exploring the cultural trail through the village will have the chance to meet the creators driving the weekend. The eclectic lineup features sculptors Geneviève Robiquet Zou and Kareen Art; painters Béatrice and Patrick Courchausser, Fabien Caffino, Iva Seveon, Mathilda Orefici, Sylvie ‘Sylvo Art’ Pagliaccia, Bernadete Keraudren, Evelyne Dupeyrat, Marley, Jean-Louis Pagliaccia, Annick Schuoffeneger, and Marie-Christine ‘RMC’ Rees; alongside traditional craft creations from the Association de Femmes Tradition.

Practical information

The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 29th August from 10am to 7pm—with the official vernissage gathering local creators and Fondation Flavien representatives at 5:30pm—and continues on Sunday 30th August from 10am to 4pm. Free of charge, the entire showcase is hosted across the Town Hall Square and inside the Council Chamber in La Turbie.

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Photo credit: La Ville de La Turbie/Facebook

Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation supports young athletes at inaugural ‘What Gravity Challenge’

by: Virginia D’Umas
18/08/2026

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation took part in a special training session bringing together professional athletes and young members of the Monaco Athletics Club ahead of the very first ‘What Gravity Challenge’, which took place on 5th August.

Founded by Foundation Ambassador Mutaz Barshim and organised by the Fédération Monégasque d’Athlétisme, the event gave children the opportunity to discover the high jump alongside elite athletes. Under professional guidance, participants challenged themselves, learned new skills, and experienced the discipline in an inspiring and supportive atmosphere.

Foundation Ambassadors Antoine Zeghdar and Kevin Crovetto joined the session alongside General Secretary Gareth Wittstock to share the experience with the children.

Organisers noted that the initiative reflected the Foundation’s mission to use sport to educate, inspire, and empower young people, reinforcing the belief that sport builds confidence, respect, teamwork, and resilience. 

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Photo credit: Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation

More EasyJet cancellations loom after strike hits 100 French flights

by: Cassandra Tanti
18/08/2026

Around 100 EasyJet flights out of French airports were cancelled over the weekend of 15th and 16th August as cabin crew walked out over what they describe as chronic instability in their working schedules, with Nice Côte d’Azur among the bases hit and further disruption possible until early September.

The two-day stoppage struck one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer, coinciding with the 15th August national holiday. Unions said around half of the airline’s roughly 900 France-based cabin crew were expected to join the action, affecting about half of the flights out of the two Paris airports as well as Nice, Bordeaux and Lyon.

Nice among the six bases affected

The walkout covered EasyJet’s six French bases: Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes.

The airline said it had cancelled many flights in advance to allow passengers to rebook on alternative services and limit last-minute disruption, and that affected customers would be offered a refund or a free transfer to another flight.

Rosters at the heart of the dispute

The three unions behind the action — SNPNC-FO, UNAC-CFE-CGC and UNPNC-CFDT — say cabin crew face constant last-minute changes to their rosters, demanding rotations and inadequate protections.

“For anything to do with personal life or childcare, it makes things extremely complicated to organise because most of the changes come at the last moment — 24-48 hours before,” said William Bourdon of the SNPNC-FO union, who added that some crew could see their hours and destinations changed 50 to 60 times a week. “It is a permanent musical chairs,” he said.

Bourdon explained that when EasyJet lacks staff at one airport, crew are called in from another base, which must then fill its own gaps, driving repeated changes across the network.

Airline calls the timing ‘opportunistic’

EasyJet’s management described the action as opportunistic, noting that it fell on a major national holiday weekend when airports were at their busiest. The airline said it had made offers to improve staff conditions and that further talks were scheduled for September, and it urged the unions to call off the strike, saying it was disappointed by action at such an important time of year for its customers.

Further action possible until September

The unions filed their strike notice on 4th August, covering the period from 7th August to 2nd September. The notice does not mean continuous strike action across the whole window, but allows the unions to call walkouts on selected dates, with any further action announced at least 48 hours in advance. No new dates had been named at the time of writing.

Under EU passenger rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled or significantly delayed by a crew strike may be entitled to rebooking, care and, in some cases, compensation, as the disruption stems from the airline’s own staff rather than external circumstances.

Monaco Life is produced by qualified, multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, listen to our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti

British man charged with attempted murder after Nice stabbing

by: Cassandra Tanti
18/08/2026

A 49-year-old British man has been charged with attempted murder in Nice after a woman was stabbed three times and left in a critical condition, in an attack said to have been stopped by a neighbour who overpowered the assailant before police arrived.

The woman, aged around 60, remains in a critical condition in hospital. The man, who was also injured during the incident, was hospitalised and remains in custody. It is not yet clear whether the two knew each other.

An attack in the early hours

Officers were called to avenue Georges Clémenceau, near Nice’s main railway station, at around 00:30 on Sunday. According to police sources cited by Nice-Matin, the man was armed with a knife and stabbed the woman three times, once in the abdomen and twice in the head, in the courtyard entrance of the apartment building where she lives.

Anti-crime brigade (BAC) officers who were already patrolling nearby reached the scene shortly after an emergency call was placed, and arrested the suspect.

A neighbour intervenes

The attack was reportedly halted by a 33-year-old neighbour who heard the woman’s cries and rushed to help. He told Nice-Matin he had initially assumed he was witnessing an argument between neighbours and had not seen the knife, before going down to the courtyard to intervene. He said the attacker threatened him in English, warning him not to approach or he would kill him, and that he managed to disarm and restrain the man while trying to stem the victim’s bleeding.

The mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, praised the neighbour’s courage in a post on social media, saluting the man who had stepped in and subdued the attacker, as well as the swift action of the BAC.

Investigation under way

The Nice public prosecutor’s office confirmed the man’s age and nationality and said he had been taken into custody in connection with the attack. “The investigation has been entrusted to the criminal investigation unit of the Nice local judicial police force, and will help clarify the circumstances and context of the attack,” the prosecutor said.

Monaco Life is produced by qualified, multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok.