Teachers and school staff have been called to strike alongside pupils on Tuesday 6th October, threatening further disruption to Riviera schools after a week of protests marked by violence, arrests and threats against education staff. A demonstration is planned in Nice, while 28 lycées across the Alpes-Maritimes switched to remote teaching on Monday.
The national mobilisation could extend disruption beyond schools affected by blockades, with the SNES-FSU, SNEP-FSU and SNUEP-FSU unions calling for strike action in support of pupils’ demands for greater investment in public education. The extent of participation in individual Riviera establishments has not yet been confirmed.
In Nice, L’Union Étudiante has announced a gathering at Place Garibaldi at 2pm on Tuesday. The parents’ federation FCPE has also called on members to demonstrate alongside pupils.
Violence and threats during last week’s protests
The renewed mobilisation follows serious disturbances around several schools in the Alpes-Maritimes and Var.
According to prefecture figures reported by Les Petites Affiches, 29 people were arrested in the Alpes-Maritimes on Friday 2nd October, including following the throwing of fireworks and other projectiles, and damage to property. That followed 72 arrests on Thursday.
No injuries were reported on Friday, but the prefecture counted 14 national police officers and four municipal officers injured since the movement began.
Nice academy rector Emmanuel Roux condemned the violence while distinguishing it from pupils’ right to protest peacefully. He also reported threats against headteachers, teachers and other education staff, including death threats on social media. Those incidents have been referred to judicial authorities, with protection provided to affected staff.
Remote lessons could continue on Tuesday
The number of Alpes-Maritimes lycées placed in remote teaching rose from 24 on Friday to 28 on Monday. The additional establishments were Lycée Goscinny in Drap, the Centre International de Valbonne and Cannes’ Jules-Ferry and Les Côteaux lycées.
The arrangements could be extended into Tuesday depending on conditions. Restrictions on stationary gatherings around affected establishments will remain in force until 7pm on Tuesday, while three CRS police sections were brought in to reinforce local officers on Monday.
For families, disruption could therefore come from several directions: continued remote lessons, further blockades and staff absences linked to the strike call.
Calls for answers on school conditions
The protests centre on teaching shortages, timetables and school conditions. Following talks with pupil representatives on Friday, Roux identified four principal concerns: timetables, buildings, educational guidance and the need for more dialogue.
He said timetable issues would be examined with schools, building concerns addressed with Région Sud and pupil councils convened more regularly. A national consultation platform was scheduled to open on Monday 5th October.
The teaching unions, however, are calling for a national response backed by funding.
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Photo by Monaco Life
Vacherot’s Japan Open run ends as focus turns to Shanghai title defence
Valentin Vacherot’s impressive run at the Japan Open came to a close on Monday as he fell to Jiri Lehecka in straight sets in the semifinals in Tokyo.
After consecutive victories, including wins over former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No. 9 Arthur Fils, Vacherot was unable to deliver another comeback as Lehecka secured a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
The two remained evenly matched through the opening stages before Lehecka found an opportunity to break Vacherot at 2-2. Although Vacherot had an opportunity to respond, he was unable to convert, allowing the Czech to protect his lead and finish the set 6-4.
Lehecka’s momentum carried into the second set as he took control early with a 3-0 advantage. Vacherot recovered one of the breaks; however, he was unable to complete the comeback before Lehecka reclaimed control to end the match with a 6-2 set.
This defeat marks the end of a strong performance in Tokyo for Vacherot as he overcame Alexander Blockx, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Arthur Fils to earn his place in the semifinals. Despite falling short of the final, Vacherot leaves Tokyo having reached a new career high of world No. 14.
Eyes will now be on Vacherot as he returns to the Shanghai Masters as defending champion, following his historic 2025 title run. The main draw begins on 7 October, with Vacherot receiving a first-round bye. With a career-high ranking and an impressive Tokyo performance, the Monaco player will look to continue the momentum in a place that has brought special moments before.
Les Marinières en Rose marked its fifth edition with a record-breaking weekend in Villefranche-sur-Mer, with 800 participants coming together and raising €15,000 for Monaco’s Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace (CHPG).
Held on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October as part of Pink October, the charity event saw a significant increase in participants from the 500 who took part in 2025, while fundraising increased from €11,000 to €15,000. The results meant that founder Patricia Plessis’ goals of 800 participants and €15,000 raised were reached.
For Plessis, this level of growth carries major significance. “I’m very moved because I started this event after a friend of mine passed away in 2022,” she revealed to Monaco Life. “We began with 70 people, and this year we are 800. It’s wonderful. We’ve multiplied the number of participants by ten in five years, and as a result, we’re able to give much more to help women.”
Throughout the weekend, participants of all ages took part in open-water swimming, a solidarity walk, and a children’s race, highlighting the idea of “solidarity before performance”.
Villefranche-sur-Mer Mayor Robert Capelier and President of Century 21 Lafage-Transactions Benjamin Mondou were also present throughout the weekend, highlighting their support for the initiative.
Patricia Plessis (right) organiser of Les Marinières en Rose
SUPPORTING WOMEN BEYOND TREATMENT
100% of funds raised through the event are donated to the CHPG to help finance supportive care for women undergoing cancer treatment. Services that are not reimbursed include yoga, massages, music therapy, wigs, and more. Plessis stressed that the initiative aims to bring people together around a disease affecting many. “We are all concerned by this, so we should all come together to fight it,” she said.
This year’s contribution brings the total amount raised by Les Marinières en Rose to €40,000 since its creation in 2022. What began with just 70 participants in memory of one woman has grown into an event bringing hundreds together every year to show support for women undergoing cancer treatment.
Click on the gallery for more images of the event…
Monaco’s sea is often a backdrop to beach days, harbour views and yacht outings. But a new IMSEE report reveals its more powerful side: an individual wave measuring 8.58 metres — roughly the height of a three-storey building — was recorded off the Principality during a storm on 20th December 2019.
That was the highest wave captured in a ten-year series of offshore measurements analysed by Monaco Statistics. It was not an isolated example of sizeable seas either: other storms produced individual waves of 7.81 metres in November 2019 and 7.56 metres in December 2017.
Published on 1st October, the study examines Monaco’s wave conditions between 2016 and 2025. Its findings reveal a coastline where generally modest waves are interrupted by much more powerful episodes — and where the roughest month is not necessarily the one with the biggest waves.
What an 8.58-metre wave means
The measurements came from a buoy moored off Monaco in 92 metres of water, part of the CANDHIS network operated by France’s technical agency Cerema.
During the December 2019 storm, significant wave height reached 4.51 metres. This measures the average height of the highest third of waves over a 30-minute interval, giving a picture of the surrounding sea conditions. The largest individual wave was almost twice that height.
The report ranks this episode first for both measures: it produced the biggest single wave and the most severe overall sea state recorded in the series.
These are offshore measurements, rather than wave heights at the beach or inside the harbour, but they illustrate the scale of the storms that can develop beyond Monaco’s waterfront.
The biggest waves arrive before the deepest winter
One of the study’s most useful findings is the difference between frequency and force.
March had the greatest number of rough days across the decade. Yet the most extreme waves were recorded between October and December, including the four largest individual peaks, all exceeding seven metres.
In other words, winter and early spring brought more regular rough seas, while autumn and early winter produced the strongest recorded events.
How often does Monaco’s sea become rough?
Across the days with measurements available, significant wave height exceeded one metre on roughly one day in three.
After estimating gaps in the records, IMSEE calculated an average of around 127 rough days each year. That does not mean four months of continuously rough water: a day is counted when the one-metre threshold is crossed at least once.
Summer presents a very different picture. July and August averaged only around three rough days per month, compared with approximately 17 in March.
Even the calmer season had its larger moments, however. Individual waves of around two to three metres were recorded during summer, showing how much conditions can vary within a season generally associated with gentler seas.
Direction matters too. Waves arriving from the south-west and east accounted for 87.2% of the most severe sea states. The eastern sector became particularly prominent during storms, despite contributing a smaller share of everyday conditions.
Are Monaco’s waves getting bigger?
The study found no detectable increase in average wave height or the annual frequency of rough days between 2016 and 2025.
Average significant wave height stayed close to 62 centimetres. The strongest storm in each year varied much more substantially, showing how a single event can dominate a year’s record without changing the underlying pattern.
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Photo by Monaco Life, digitally edited to illustrate rough sea conditions
Leclerc fights back from last to fourth in chaotic Sepang race
Monaco’s Charles Leclerc recovered from last place to finish fourth at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, overcoming Ferrari’s costly opening tyre gamble and collision damage to salvage 12 points before Formula 1 heads to Singapore this week.
The Monégasque finished behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who completed the podium alongside race winner Max Verstappen and runner-up Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc crossed the line 7.258 seconds behind Verstappen, with Ferrari’s combined 27 points consolidating second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Held at Sepang under the official Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia title, the race began 90 minutes late after heavy rain and a software problem disrupted preparations. For Leclerc, starting fourth, the difficulties continued almost immediately.
An opening gamble goes wrong
Ferrari chose Soft slick tyres for both drivers as the rain eased, but the circuit remained too wet for the decision to pay off. Both cars slipped backwards against rivals running Intermediates.
Leclerc’s situation worsened following first-lap contact with Nico Hülkenberg, which damaged his front wing and caused a puncture. A stop for repairs and Intermediate tyres left him at the back of the field.
“It was an eventful race. A lot of things went wrong in the first part, and everything that could have gone right did in the second part, so I would say P4 is a good result today all things considered,” Leclerc said in Ferrari’s post-race statement.
“I collided with Nico on lap 1 as I started on slicks and the track turned out to still be very wet. It was a close call which tyres to start on, with a mixed grid, and we will learn from today to be prepared should these conditions come up again.”
A Safety Car intervention brought the field back together, giving Ferrari an opportunity to recover. As conditions improved, Leclerc and Hamilton worked their way into contention, reaching sixth and fifth respectively by around two-thirds distance.
A late move secures fourth
The closing stages brought another opportunity when Alex Albon stopped on track, triggering a further Safety Car. Ferrari brought both drivers in for fresh Soft tyres, while George Russell’s retirement moved them closer to the podium.
Hamilton passed Isack Hadjar after the restart to take third, with Leclerc following him past the Red Bull driver to secure fourth.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged that the opening tyre decision had been wrong, but praised the recovery.
“Charles’ race was made even more difficult by the need to stop after the first lap to replace the front wing following a collision, which makes his recovery to fourth place particularly impressive,” he said.
Hamilton’s third place delivered Ferrari’s tenth podium of the season and his sixth.
Final race results
Max Verstappen won ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton, with Charles Leclerc fourth. Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
Singapore brings another chance this weekend
Leclerc will have little time to dwell on Sepang, with the Singapore Grand Prix taking place from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th October.
Marina Bay will host its first Formula 1 Sprint weekend, adding another points-scoring opportunity. Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday, followed by the Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Sunday’s race starts at 8pm in Singapore, or 2pm in Monaco and France.
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Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
Monaco and Italy turn to unfinished business as state visit ends
A 37-year-old air treaty and access to Monaco’s hospitals for residents of Liguria were among the issues Prince Albert II put on the table on Saturday 3rd October, as Italian President Sergio Mattarella ended the first state visit by an Italian head of state to the Principality with talk of the practical work still to be done.
Friday had belonged to ceremony, with military honours, opera and a state dinner in the Throne Room. Saturday was about substance. After meeting members of Monaco’s Italian community, the President and his daughter, Laura Mattarella, toured the Oceanographic Museum with the Prince. The two heads of state then gave their closing statements, which read less like toasts to shared history and more like a checklist of open files.
Flights and hospital beds
The Prince wasted little time in naming them. “I am thinking, for example, of the air services agreement, which has been under discussion for many years and which will, I hope, soon modernise the bilateral agreement of 1989. And I am thinking of the question of access for residents of the Liguria region to the medical care provided in the Principality,” said Prince Albert II.
Neither issue is new. Both were raised when the Italian-Monegasque Administrative Cooperation Commission met in Monaco on 12th May 2025, according to the Monaco Government. On that occasion the revision of the 1989 air transport agreement was discussed alongside health and social security. The Prince now wants that forum to deliver.
“Beyond these subjects, I hope that we will be able to achieve stronger coordination between our two countries, in particular through the reactivation, in 2025, of the Italian-Monegasque Administrative Cooperation Commission,” he said.
The President was on the same page. “I too would like to recall, as the Prince did, the important work carried out by the joint commission, which has addressed issues of common interest: social security, transport, investment. A cooperation that is also enriched by the cross-border dimension,” said President Mattarella.
Prince Albert II and Italian President Sergio Mattarella delivering speeches in Monaco. Photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger
Following the money
Mattarella’s most pointed remark concerned financial crime, an area where cooperation has quietly moved up a gear.
“I would also like to express great appreciation for the strengthened cooperation between our countries in combating organised economic and financial crime, with the signing last April of a memorandum of understanding with the Guardia di Finanza. It is another area in which we work together with great effectiveness and great value,” he said.
At the commission’s May 2025 session, both delegations had pledged to swiftly sign a memorandum between Italy’s financial police and Monaco’s police department to improve operational cooperation against crime.
Prince Albert II with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter Laura during a visit to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Photo credit: Manuel Vitali
Business without borders
Italy is, with France, one of only two countries to keep a resident embassy in Monaco. The Prince described the commercial ties as “intense and numerous”.
“Italian companies are firmly established in key sectors of our economy. Opening up the use of teleworking has made it easier to hire Italian cross-border workers. And the first Italy–Monaco Business Forum confirmed the vitality of our exchanges, as well as our shared will to encourage innovation, investment and partnerships between our companies,” said Prince Albert.
That forum, held at the Le Méridien Beach Plaza on 13th March, drew representatives of more than 200 Italian and Monegasque companies.
“As you recalled, Your Highness, economic relations are intense and growing, and there is significant integration between our economies. And there is a collaborative integration between our companies, which is an aspect of great importance, and one that benefits from the climate of friendship between our countries,” said President Mattarella.
The diplomatic ties are growing too. Monaco sits as an observer on the Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation committee set up under the Quirinal Treaty. It has also joined the Community of Italophony, a forum for the Italian-speaking world founded in Rome on 18th November 2025. The Prince first discussed the idea in Monaco in February 2025 with Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani.
Photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger
Sport, peace and the rule of law
The President singled out Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and their children for their presence at the Winter Olympics and the Mediterranean Games. He said it reflected “the value that the Principality, like Italy, places on sport at a social level, in the education of young people, and in healthy and fair international relations.”
On the wider world, he signalled complete alignment. “We also spoke about the many problems facing international life at this time, finding constant and full harmony and convergence, inspired by the values of peace, freedom, the equal dignity of every State and the protection of the rule of law and human rights,” said President Mattarella.
What lies beneath
The setting for the final word was no accident. Fifty years after the RAMOGE agreement was signed to protect the Mediterranean, Italy currently holds its presidency, a point the Prince welcomed. Mattarella, standing in the museum founded by Prince Albert I, spoke of the sea that remains largely unexplored.
“It is a place of science that gathers testimony and urges us to explore what we in reality still know very little about, namely the seabed, and the commitment of the Principality of Monaco in this area is particularly precious for the international community,” he said.
He paid tribute to the Principality’s scientist-sovereign as “a scientist who drove the world towards knowledge of the sea and the protection of the sea and of the environment.”
Next stop, Italy
The visit closed with a pledge from one side and an invitation from the other.
“On behalf of all Monegasques, I therefore wish to thank you, Mr President, and to tell you that you can count on me to sustain and enrich, in the future, the long shared history of Monaco and Italy,” said Prince Albert II.
“In conclusion, Your Highness, I would like to thank you once again for your hospitality over these two days and for the meetings we have had, to express my conviction that the ties between our countries will be further strengthened as a result, and to tell you that, naturally, I hope to see you again soon in Italy,” said President Mattarella.
Monaco Life is written by qualified journalists, writing original content. Sign up for our free newsletter, listen to our podcasts on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok.
Main photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger
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