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Month: August 2026

Football: Monaco secure Europa Conference League qualification

by: Luke Entwistle
27/08/2026
Brunner reaching out to high-five Dier after he put Monaco ahead against Górnik Zabrze

As the Champions League draw took place on the opposite side of the Principality, AS Monaco ensured that they would take part in some form of European football this season thanks to a comfortable win over Górnik Zabrze (4-1, agg. 7-3).

CEO Thiago Scuro and sporting director Carlos Avina would much rather have been sat in the auditorium of the Grimaldi Forum on Thursday night, watching Monaco’s name being pulled out of the hat in the Champions League draw. Last season’s shortcomings ensured that wouldn’t be the case, but they could still embark on a European adventure in the event of seeing off a spirited Górnik Zabrze side at the Stade Louis II.

Górnik Zabrze and a fall from grace

To know that this wasn’t the Champions League, you only needed to look at the quality on the pitch. There wasn’t a lot of it, at least from the visitors. But the Polish side could nonetheless have featured in Europe’s premier competition. They began the summer in the UCL qualifiers and ended it without any form of European football to show for their efforts. But there was no resentment at the final whistle, greeted by chants of “Thank You” from a buoyant away end; there were 6,200 fans in attendance on the night, and it was the chants of the Polish contingent that rang around a stadium still in the midst of renovation work.

Monaco politely saved their best football until after the Champions League draw had been completed. There was not a chance of note inside the first 29 minutes, but Paris Brunner then awoke the crowd from its stupor with a rifled first-time effort from outside the box: a moment of quality in a match that had, until that point, been sorely lacking it.

It was Mamadou Coulibaly who had set up the German for the opener, who got on the scoreline himself moments later. The midfielder was afforded too much room inside the Górnik Zabrze box. He was grateful for it as he picked out his spot in the far corner of Philipp Schulze’s goal.

Monaco were cruising and a third from Aleskandr Golovin just after the break ensured a night devoid of any tension. It became a question of how many, but Monaco rang the changes in anticipation of Sunday’s match against Olympique de Marseille. Key figures such as Denis Zakaria were rested, but the entrances of inexperienced prospects such as Anis Soubeir, Safouane Benzahra, and Illane Touré didn’t help Les Monégasques’ rhythm.

Coulibaly says Monaco look to go deep in UECL

But who needs rhythm when the opponent is prepared to offer gifts. Golovin’s was the first, the result of Lukas Sadilek’s fluffed clearance, and the second courtesy of Schulze, who parried a simple Mathys Detourbet shot right into the path of substitute Mika Biereth. The Dane, after a difficult second season at the Principality club netted what was his first goal at the Stade Louis II since last September. A return to form for the former Arsenal man would be welcome for a Monaco side that are bracing to lose last season’s marksman, Folarin Balogun.

Janis Antiste’s late consolation for Górnik Zabrze, which “bothered” Filipe Luís, was the only stain on an otherwise serene if not spectacular evening in the Principality. “We did what we had to do: qualify for UECL. For me, Monaco has to be in European competition. We have to aim to be there every season. There were no big celebrations, but it was important to win,” reacted Filipe Luís.

“We hope to go far in the Europa Conference League,” reacted Coulibaly. In the immediate, attention turns to Sunday’s game against Marseille. Despite the importance of that fixture, there wasn’t any rotation against Górnik Zabrze. And there was a logic to that. “I think that we are in a moment where the players need to play, to be tired, to adapt to playing a run of games; it is the only way that they will feel better,” said Luís.

Three games, three wins for Luís. The new Monaco manager will look to make it four against OM in what is his first big test since being appointed over the summer.

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Photo source: AS Monaco

Meta’s $17bn child-safety deal: what it must change, and will it reach Europe?

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/08/2026

Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion, around €15 billion, and to overhaul how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook, in a landmark United States settlement over claims that its platforms were designed to hook children. The deal raises an obvious question on this side of the Atlantic: will the changes reach European users too?

The agreement, announced on 26th August, resolves a wave of lawsuits brought by a coalition of US state attorneys general, led by a case that 29 states filed in 2023. They accused Meta of deliberately engineering Instagram and Facebook to addict young people, of misleading the public about the risks to their mental health, and of collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent. Meta did not admit wrongdoing. Analysts have likened the settlement to the tobacco industry deals of the 1990s, which reshaped how those companies operated.

There is a catch in the headline number. Meta is guaranteed to pay around $12 billion. The remaining $5 billion only follows if TikTok and YouTube sign up to similar measures and match the sum themselves.

What Meta must change

Beyond the money, the settlement forces changes to the platforms. By default, minors’ use of Instagram and Facebook will be capped at around two hours a day, and the apps will be blocked between midnight and 6am unless a parent lifts the restriction. Notifications to under-18s will be switched off overnight, from 10pm to 7am, with further limits during school hours. The company will also hide ‘like’ and reaction counts for young users, a feature long linked to social pressure and anxiety, and tighten the age checks meant to keep younger children out. Those daily limits would fall further, to one hour, if rival platforms adopt the same rules.

“Meta must make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms,” said California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, who led the case, adding that the changes should arrive within months.

An industry-wide bet

Meta has framed the deal as a challenge to its competitors as much as a concession. “This framework will only work if all our peers join us,” said the company’s chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, arguing that teenagers move across dozens of apps and that piecemeal fixes achieve little. It is also why much of the settlement is conditional on TikTok and YouTube following suit.

Will it reach Europe?

The settlement itself is American, binding Meta’s conduct towards users in the United States. But Europe has been pushing in the same direction by a different route: regulation. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, the European Commission provisionally found in April that Meta was in breach of the law for failing to keep under-13s off Facebook and Instagram, citing weak age checks that let children simply enter a false date of birth and reporting tools that were hard to use. It is separately investigating whether the platforms’ designs fuel addiction and ‘rabbit-hole’ effects among minors, and is developing an EU-wide approach to age verification. If the findings are confirmed, Meta faces fines of up to 6 per cent of its global annual turnover.

In other words, change is coming to Europe, but through legislation rather than the American courts.

France has gone furthest. Its parliament passed a ban on under-15s using social media, only for the Constitutional Council to strike it down in August on free-expression grounds. Even so, the measure is far from dead: President Emmanuel Macron, who has made the issue a personal cause, has ordered the government to redraft the law to meet the court’s objections, and the Élysée says he wants it in force before spring 2027.

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In photos: Prince Albert joins athletes at the Mediterranean Games

by: Virginia D’Umas
27/08/2026

Prince Albert II of Monaco travelled to southern Italy this week to support the Principality’s delegation at the 20th Mediterranean Games.

Acting in his dual capacity as head of the Monegasque Olympic Committee and an International Olympic Committee member, the Prince arrived in Puglia accompanied by COM General Secretary Yvette Lambin Berti.

Prince Albert II with Yvette Lambin Berti and Lucas Catarina at the 20th Mediterranean Games. Photo source: Comité Olympique Monégasque

Touring the Taranto venues

Prince Albert’s itinerary included lunch with the national squad, meetings with competing athletes, and stops at multiple competition arenas – ranging from sailing and padel courts to swimming pools and boules pitches.

Prince Albert II shaking hands with Iakovos Filippousis, the Secretary General of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICMG). Photo source: ICMG

The trip wrapped up with an official gathering hosted by the ‘International Committee of the Mediterranean Games’ executive bureau.

Early successes on the field

The ongoing multi-sport showcase kicked off on Friday 21st August, with boules athlete Giulia Campillo and sailor Jérémy Moutout leading the delegation out as flag-bearers during the opening ceremony.

20th Mediterranean Games – Prince Albert II with the Monegasque delegation. Photo source: Comité olympique monégasque

Monaco’s roster has already achieved several notable results. In padel, Nicolas Fedoroff and Noah Minioni carved out a piece of national sports history by claiming the Principality’s maiden victory in the discipline, defeating Albania 2-1 before a subsequent 0-2 loss to France. In boules, Guillaume Campillo secured eighth place in the precision shooting competition alongside a fifth-place finish in the doubles with Alain Costa. In the women’s events, Sabrina Campillo took seventh in precision shooting, while her mother-and-daughter doubles pairing with Giulia Campillo faced tough defeats against France and Algeria.

Looking ahead to upcoming fixtures

With the Games running through to 3rd September, Monegasque representatives remain active on the schedule, with upcoming competitions still ahead in athletics, gymnastics, judo, equestrianism, table tennis, and sailing.

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Prince Albert II with members of the Italian women’s padel team and their coach Marcela Ferrari (on the right). Photo credit International Padel Federation 

Monaco and Mauritius forge diplomatic ties, united by the ocean

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/08/2026

Monaco and the Republic of Mauritius have established diplomatic relations, in a move that brings together two small states whose international standing is closely tied to the ocean.

The relationship was formalised on 25th August by a joint communiqué signed at the United Nations in New York by their permanent representatives, Isabelle Picco for Monaco and Milan Meetarbhan for Mauritius.

Mauritius may be a small island, but it commands a vast maritime territory. Its exclusive economic zone covers around 2.3 million square kilometres, more than 500 times its land area and the 20th-largest in the world, and the country has placed a ‘blue economy’ of fisheries, marine biotechnology, aquaculture and sustainable tourism at the centre of its development. That focus on protecting and harnessing the ocean is one Monaco has long shared, and it ran through the two countries’ first exchanges.

Common ground

After the signing, Picco and Meetarbhan discussed several areas of shared interest, among them environmental protection, sustainable tourism and education, and agreed to seek closer cooperation. Mauritius becomes one of more than 160 countries with which Monaco has established diplomatic relations, many of them island and coastal states with which the Principality has built ties through its environmental diplomacy, a cause closely associated with Prince Albert II.

The pattern is a familiar one. When Monaco established relations with the Federated States of Micronesia last year, the two sides likewise turned to the ocean, discussing coral reefs and the protection of the high seas.

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Photo credit: Xavier Coiffic, Unsplash

Monaco prepares for annual ‘U Cavagnëtu’ picnic in September

by: Virginia D’Umas
27/08/2026

The traditional Monegasque picnic, known as  ‘U Cavagnëtu’, will take place on Saturday 19th September at the Parc Princesse Antoinette.

Exclusively reserved for Monegasque citizens and their spouses, the evening will commence at 6pm with an open-air mass held on the park’s multi-sports pitch. Following the religious service, guests will gather for a convivial social picnic accompanied by live musical entertainment and various activities.

Cultural background and heritage

Organised annually by the Mairie de Monaco, ‘U Cavagnëtu’ marks the symbolic end of the summer season and serves as a major community gathering for citizens of the Principality. Rooted in local heritage, the word ‘cavagnëtu’ traditionally refers to the picnic basket packed with provisions for a day out in nature. Over the decades, the event has evolved into a beloved tradition where local residents and members of the Princely family come together in a relaxed, festive atmosphere. Attendees traditionally enjoy regional culinary specialties—such as pissaladière, socca, and barbagiuans—while celebrating Monegasque culture.

Practical information and travel

Access to the Parc Princesse Antoinette will open at 5:15pm, and proof of identity will be required at all entry points.Travel on the Monaco bus network and parking at the Jardin Exotique will be free of charge from 5pm onwards upon presentation of a Monegasque identity card.

Venue closures and facility access

To accommodate the organisation of the event, the Parc Princesse Antoinette will be closed to the general public from Monday 14th to Wednesday 23rd September 2026 inclusive.

Visitors should note that Le Cabanon des Jeux will remain open during this period via the Boulevard de Belgique entrance, with the sole exception of the event day on 19th September. Additionally, the park’s mini-golf facility will be closed from 17th to 21st September inclusive.

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 ‘U Cavagnëtu’ picnic 2024. Photo credit: Mairie de Monaco, Ed Wright Images

Monaco Business to return with focus on AI and international growth

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/08/2026

Monaco Business will return to the Sea Club at Le Méridien Beach Plaza on Friday 18th September, bringing together entrepreneurs, executives and public institutions for the Principality’s largest annual B2B event.

Now in its 14th year, the salon is expected to attract around 1,000 visitors and more than 50 exhibitors across 1,000 square metres of exhibition space. The programme combines business meetings and networking with six conferences examining the issues shaping Monaco’s economy.

Minister of State Christophe Mirmand is expected to open the event, which is being held under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II.

AI and technological sovereignty on the agenda

Artificial intelligence will feature prominently in this year’s programme, with entrepreneur and digital specialist Gilles Babinet due to address the relationship between AI, European competitiveness and technological sovereignty.

Other discussions will examine security as a foundation of Monaco’s prosperity, cybersecurity and the implications of the EU’s NIS2 framework, environmental policy and sustainable development, and the ability of Monaco-based companies to expand into international markets.

The final conference will consider how businesses can maintain purpose and performance in a rapidly changing economic environment.

Announced participants include Grimaldi Forum Monaco General Director Sylvie Biancheri, Monaco Telecom CEO Martin Peronnet, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer Deputy Chairman Stéphane Valeri and Laboratoire Therascience President Jean-Pierre Agarra.

A dedicated networking lounge will allow participants to arrange meetings throughout the day, while workshops and coaching sessions will offer practical support to entrepreneurs and companies considering establishing a presence in the Principality.

The event will conclude at 6pm with the presentation of the Monaco Business Award, which recognises a company or entrepreneur contributing to Monaco’s economic development. The 2025 award went to Oléna Sullivan-Prykhodko, founder and director of The British School of Monaco.

Monaco Business takes place on Friday 18th September at the Sea Club, Le Méridien Beach Plaza. Admission is free, with advance registration available through the official Monaco Business website.

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Photo credit: Benjamin Vergely, Department of Tourism