On Saturday 12th September, the Marché de la Condamine will come alive as the traditional Bal du Marché returns for another vibrant neighbourhood celebration.
Kicking off at 7:30pm, the evening invites residents and visitors to gather in the heart of Monaco for an open-air guinguette atmosphere. Benty Brothers Music will set the tone for the night, providing a lively live soundtrack designed for singing, dancing and late-summer socialising.
Family attractions
Beyond the dance floor, families attending can expect complimentary treats and amusements tailored for younger guests.
Dining and logistics
Guests wishing to dine during the event can reserve tables directly through the participating market merchants. General entry to the celebration is entirely free, ensuring an accessible evening for the whole community.
Monaco is pushing back against the growing grip of screens on young minds, bringing printed textbooks back into classrooms as part of a broader strategy to rebuild concentration, strengthen learning and preserve the Principality’s exceptionally high academic standards.
The Communication Directorate hosted a press event on Wednesday 2nd September at Lycée Albert-Ier to outline the upcoming academic term. Led by Lionel Beffre, Government Counselor and Minister of the Interior, alongside Jean-Philippe Vinci, Director of National Education, Youth, and Sports, the conference laid out the Principality’s strategic vision, priorities, and structural upgrades for the 2026–2027 school year.
Lionel Beffre, Government Counselor and Minister of the Interior, speaking at the press conference on Wednesday. Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas
Balancing innovation and academic rigour
Monaco’s education leaders have outlined a robust roadmap for the 2026–2027 academic year, focusing heavily on reversing the ‘fracturation’ of student attention, reintroducing traditional print textbooks, and maintaining high academic standards. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the new term, Minister of Interior Lionel Beffre highlighted the exceptional state of the Principality’s facilities following extensive modernisation, saying:“After a year of intensive work, students are returning to an establishment offering optimal working conditions.”
He added that authorities placed equal emphasis on essential structural enhancements and aesthetic improvements, saying that: “Special attention was given to both the unseen upgrades – such as classroom digitalisation and soundproofing – and visible transformations, including fresh painting and upgraded catering areas.”
Beffre also pointed to the recent results in academic outcomes, saying that the Principality continues to achieve exceptional academic results, noting a success rate rising to 99.5% for the baccalaureate—with 53 laureates achieving ‘Very Good’ honours—alongside a 100% pass rate for BTS students. Furthermore, 95% of terminal students secured a Parcoursup offer, while 24% gained admission to competitive institutions outside the platform, including Oxford, Cambridge, and elite French preparatory classes.
Tackling the digital ‘fracturation’ of attention
Director Jean-Philippe Vinci dedicated a significant portion of the briefing to the psychological and neurological impact of digital consumption on modern youth. Citing the reflections of philosopher Simone Veil from 1942, Vinci warned that modern schooling faces a severe challenge from digital distraction.
“We are no longer simply in the fragmentation of attention, meaning passive distraction; we are today in what we scientists call the ‘fracturation’ of attention,” Vinci explained, adding: “It fractures, like we fracture a molecule, we fracture attention, and we extract evidently the consciousness, the data, and it’s a phenomenon extremely important, subterranean, and very powerful.”
To combat this, the Principality is expanding its low-tech interventions. Following successful trials, 6th and 5th-grade secondary students will receive physical, government-funded paper manuals to use in class, allowing them to leave digital devices at home during school hours. “Print is not obsolete, but acts as a technology of attention that aids deep memorisation and allows teachers to accurately track pupil engagement,” Vinci said. He also pointed to international shifts—such as Sweden reversing its heavy reliance on digital tablets after observing dips in PISA scores—as validation for a more balanced approach between screens and paper.
Clean water, clear focus: The new academic roadmap
Building on these core philosophies, the education department has structured the new academic year around several distinct priorities. Public and private systems welcome 5,652 students this year, supported by 533 teachers and 375 non-teaching staff, with Beffre highlighting that capping class sizes remains vital to safeguarding educational quality.
Mathematics and sciences will receive renewed emphasis, building on the success of the Mathematics Olympiads which engaged over 300 students last year, while guidance counselling is also being restructured through individualised follow-ups and partnerships with bodies like the Junior Chamber of Commerce to better connect students with modern career paths.
Expanding cultural and musical education remains a major focus, as early childhood music initiatives developed alongside the Académie Rainier III expand from pilot kindergarten classes into a universal programme where professional musicians visit schools weekly.
Additionally, middle school CHAM schedules have been streamlined to give students dedicated time for daily instrument practice.
Infrastructure and catering upgrades are also moving forward; following the successful launch of the Charles III College swimming pool, works have begun on the Saint-Charles school pool ahead of a late 2026 completion, and a revamped school catering contract with SMR will guarantee larger portions, increased on-site preparation, and at least 40% organic or local produce.
With health controls successfully managing minor technical anomalies like a standard trace of legionella at Charles III College prior to term, and preparations for the upcoming Youth Games well underway, Monaco’s education authorities have ensured that schools open their doors with both security and academic rigour firmly prioritised.
Prince Albert II has urged European nations to defend multilateralism, dialogue and the rule of law as Monaco hosted ambassadors from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states during its first presidency of the organisation’s Committee of Ministers.
Speaking at a reception at the Prince’s Palace on Wednesday 2nd September, the Prince said no country could confront the challenges facing Europe alone.
“In the face of the war against Ukraine, in the face of growing distrust between nations and the rule of law being called into question, multilateralism and dialogue remain irreplaceable,” he said.
“The Council of Europe, with its conventions, its Court and its monitoring mechanisms, offers an indispensable framework, one that it falls to us collectively to preserve, to defend and to strengthen.”
Prince Albert II welcomed the representatives alongside Princess Charlene following a meeting of the Committee of Ministers hosted in the Principality. It was the committee’s first gathering since the summer break and took place under Monaco’s six-month presidency, which continues until November.
Monaco joined the Council of Europe in 2004. The Prince described its first presidency of the committee as “the fruit of a long endeavour” and an opportunity for the Principality to share its values and commitments.
“The protection of all, through an organisation equipped to meet the challenges of our time,” would remain the central focus of Monaco’s work, he said.
Europe facing a single threat to democratic security
Earlier in the day, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset told the assembled ambassadors that Russia’s war against Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, migration and foreign interference should not be treated as separate crises.
Instead, he said, they formed a broader threat to Europe’s democratic security that required a united response. The same principle should guide reform of the Council of Europe itself.
On Ukraine, Berset pointed to intensifying Russian airstrikes, civilian casualties and rising tensions around the Black Sea and in Baltic airspace. He said maintaining European unity around Ukraine remained essential and called for Europe to play a direct role in efforts to secure peace.
The conflict was taking place on European soil, he stressed, and could not be resolved without Europe’s involvement. He also referred to a new Council of Europe action plan for Ukraine.
Middle East, migration and foreign interference
Turning to the Middle East, Berset said the renewed escalation demonstrated how quickly conflict in the region could affect European security.
He called for international law to be respected, civilians to be protected and humanitarian access to Gaza – where he described the situation as catastrophic – to be guaranteed. He also affirmed Israel’s right to security.
On migration, Berset referred to the recent crisis in Ceuta, where more than 100 people reportedly died after large numbers attempted to cross from Morocco into Spain.
While recognising the right of member states to control their borders, he said the Council of Europe was working towards a collective response to migrant smuggling.
Prince Albert II, meanwhile, placed Monaco’s presidency within the Principality’s longstanding commitment to solidarity, progress and the protection of life.
“At a time when the world is passing through a period of profound instability, when crises follow one another and compound one another, these commitments, like those that have guided the Council of Europe since its foundation, must be reaffirmed,” he said.
Following the sell-out success of its Monte-Carlo Monopoly, Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) is preparing to release a Monaco edition of Cluedo, complete with a familiar cast of Monte-Carlo characters, famous resort locations and beautiful illustrations by Jean-Benoît Héron.
On Wednesday, the company gave a small group of journalists an early look at its latest collectable, a Monaco edition of Cluedo, due out in time for Christmas. It follows the SBM Monopoly, which sold out its run of 3,000 last winter, with around a third reportedly bought by the company’s own employees, and has since become a sought-after collector’s item.
Inside the mystery
The premise of SBM’s Cluedo is pure Monte-Carlo. The victim is Madame Charlotte Banco, a roulette champion in town for a grand tournament, whose lucky golden chip vanishes over a glittering weekend at the resort. Players have to work out who took it, where, and with what — the familiar Cluedo formula, remade in Monaco’s image.
The six suspects are a knowing cast of Riviera types. There is the Influencer, Jen Scoop, who never puts her phone down and knows a photo of the stolen charm would send her follower count soaring; the Baroness, Garance de Rochemont, elegant but embittered, upstaged at her own charity gala and quietly short of funds; and Carine Boncru, a celebrated wine expert with a dream of a Tuscan estate. Completing the line-up are the devoted assistant Nadyne Dévouée, the ever-watchful paparazzo Chris Voitou, and the Grand Rival, Matthew Jeuxton, a One Monte-Carlo resident who insists luck has nothing to do with his success.
The rooms are the resort itself — the Casino de Monte-Carlo, the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo and its Bar Américain, the Hôtel Hermitage’s bar Gustave, the Caves de l’Hôtel de Paris, Sporting Monte-Carlo, Monte-Carlo Beach and One Monte-Carlo — while the weapons of the original become elegant accessories: a dice cup, a Panama hat, a card holder, a casino pouch.
The whole story was written in-house, by an SBM lawyer who is also a published author. And there is a private joke buried in the cast: the suspects carry the first names of the working group who made the game, their surnames reworked into small puns that land better in French — Boncru, a fine vintage; Voitou, who sees everything.
SBM’s Cluedo features illustrations of its celebrated venues by Jean-Benoît Héron. Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti
The man who draws Monaco
For Jean-Benoît Héron, the illustrator behind both games, this is the latest chapter in a love of drawing Monaco that goes back nearly 30 years. It began, fittingly, with the Casino — still his favourite subject. Long before he had any tie to the company, walking the corniche above the coast, he remembers thinking: “One day, I would really like to draw the Casino de Monte-Carlo.” The commission, when it eventually came, was an “exploded view” of the building, its ceilings peeled back to reveal the rooms inside.
He has been drawing it ever since, and relishes the way it keeps evolving — the contrast, as he puts it, between the Casino’s heritage, “the gaming rooms and salons, which retain magnificent historic architecture”, and the bright, modern glow of the slot machines. Finding a way to hold both on the page, he says, is what keeps the work interesting.
When I ask him whether he sees himself as someone who is, essentially, charged with documenting the history of Monaco, he agrees. “In a way, what I do is a historian’s work. It helps to build a bridge between the work of historians and the general public.” What matters to him, he adds, is that the result “can be seen and appreciated by everyone” — that the visual history of Monaco will be shared rather than shut away.
There is a romance to it, too. What first drew him to Monaco, he admits, was the same thing that draws everyone: “What mattered to me most was entering the place – the Casino de Monte-Carlo – where James Bond had played.”
Selling Monaco, differently
SBM has found a new way to introduce its resort to a younger generation, while offering those who already know and love Monaco something to collect – and another reason to return.
Like the venues they represent, the games are deliberately exclusive. They are produced in limited numbers and available only through selected SBM outlets or by special order. The plan is to release approximately one new game every year, creating a collection through which the world of Monte-Carlo can be passed from one generation to the next.
For Jean-Benoît Héron, the project forms part of his own legacy. Nearly 30 years after his first SBM commission, his illustrations will also appear in a forthcoming book on the history of the Casino de Monte-Carlo.
“I genuinely have the clear impression – and I am rather proud of it – that I am also part of SBM’s history,” he says.
The Monaco Cluedo and a special edition of the Monte-Carlo Monopoly will go on sale from November/December 2026.
Two of house music’s biggest names will headline the Principality’s nightlife during this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, as Roger Sanchez and Bob Sinclar play on consecutive nights while the superyacht world descends on the Principality.
Roger Sanchez takes over the decks at Amazónico Monte-Carlo on 24th September, before Bob Sinclar follows on 25th September in a night shared between COYA Monte-Carlo and the legendary Jimmy’z, where he will bring the curtain down on the club’s 2026 season. The Monaco Yacht Show itself runs from 23rd to 26th September along Port Hercule.
Two house heavyweights
Both DJs are among the genre’s most enduring stars. The American Roger Sanchez, a Grammy winner best known for the 2001 anthem ‘Another Chance’, has been a fixture of house music for more than three decades. Bob Sinclar, the French producer behind ‘Love Generation’ and ‘World, Hold On’, is one of the scene’s most recognisable figures and a regular on the international festival and club circuit.
Closing the Jimmy’z season
For Jimmy’z, Sinclar’s set is a fitting finale. Open since 1974 and part of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, the open-air club has run a busy 2026 season of guest DJs and themed nights, with the Bob Sinclar date, staged with COYA, marking its close. Reservations for the Yacht Show nights can be made through the venues.
Monaco’s Íñigo López de la Osa Franco has finished seventh in the individual show jumping final at the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto, a strong result for the Principality’s pioneering rider and the youngest in the top ten.
Riding Désirée E Z, the 23-year-old came through both the qualifiers and a two-round final, completing the competition with five penalties from a field of 26 to take his place in the top ten, where he was the only rider under 27. It was his first Mediterranean Games, and came as part of Monaco’s first appearance in the team equestrian event, contested this year at a venue built inside a former quarry.
“It was a unique and thrilling experience at the Taranto Games,” said López de la Osa Franco. “We hoped for the podium right to the end, but I’m satisfied with the result, which leaves us with a smile and good prospects for the months ahead. It was an honour to represent Monaco. The journey continues.”
He thanked his coach, Marcel Delestre, and his team, singling out his “extraordinary” horse, Désirée E Z.
A pioneer for Monaco
The result caps a landmark year for López de la Osa Franco, who has become the first male Monegasque rider to compete at the sport’s highest levels. In recent months he has ridden in the FEI Jumping World Cup and the Global Champions League, and only weeks before Taranto he took part in the 2026 World Championships, helping to establish Monaco’s place in international show jumping.
