11 new Covid cases on 17 Jan. brings total to 1,205: 31 hospitalised: 18 resident + 11 in ICU: 4 resident, 118 home monitored, 995 recoveries, 8 deaths
Money Week, which describes itself as the UK’s best-selling business weekly, and the well-respected Sunday Times have been taking a look at Monaco and its connections with Sir Philip Green and Lady Tina, or rather, their connections with Monaco and an emerging image problem.
Starting with the rather overused Somerset Maugham’s saying about “a sunny place for shady people”, which the writer applied to the entire Riviera and not just the Principality, the journalists speculate about the future residency of Lady Tina and alleged concern in high places that Sir Philip Green is giving the principality a bad name.
In the light of all the publicity about BHS, even Monaco, says Katie Glass in The Sunday Times, “felt squeamish” watching the king of UK retail take possession of a new £100 million yacht.
One of his neighbours thinks he’s “dragging the whole principality into the dirt”. Glass describes Le Roccabella, the building where he has an apartment, as “an ugly beige rectangle with orange awnings flapping over narrow balconies”. Ugly, yes, but not cheap. You won’t get a flat in the 27-storey block for less than £20 million.
But while the architecture may be as overrated as the beaches, Monaco has its advantages if you don’t like tax. And if you want to show off. “Rich people come to Monaco to peacock,” explains a regular. “To parade their new bigger boat, the new car, the new girlfriend.” Gaudy displays of wealth, says Glass, are encouraged and everyone looks like Philip Green: “Ronseal tan, thinning hair, mobile phone glued to hand”.
Glass walks to Twiga, where two Russian footballers allegedly spent £210,000 on 500 bottles of champagne, then goes to Alain Ducasse’s restaurant, La Trattoria, one of Green’s favourites, where you can get lamb chops for £38. “I sit beneath pink-lit palm trees and faux Roman columns wondering if this was where Green planned his toga party 60th birthday, when he blew £5 million flying 200 people … to Cyprus.”
It’s just the place where Green would fit in, says Glass. “I hear he likes it flash.” A Monaco neighbour describes him as “rude and nasty … He always to a certain extent paid for his company by entertaining people to such ridiculous extravagance that they’d go along because they fancied the party rather than because they liked him. But once you’ve gone past a certain point of reputation, even the inducement of being flown around the world or staying in a sumptuous hotel isn’t enough.”
The CSM has become the first public entity to take an interest in a private company, signing a financial deal with startup Coraliotech for its work applying coral molecules to human health.
Monaco’s entrepreneurial eco-system has received a major “boost” thanks to the opening of another government funded start-up incubator capable of supporting 108 businesses.
The Monaco Economic Board hosted its first ever economic e-mission with Russian entrepreneurs this month, paving the way for future business opportunities with the country.
Employees in Monaco will be able to have their hours reduced while maintaining full financial support from the State in the government’s latest bid to avoid layoffs due to the Covid crisis.
Women made up 41% of the workforce in large companies in 2019 and the majority were French. These are just some of the findings to come out of the latest report by IMSEE.
As a resurgence of the Covid pandemic brings continued uncertainty for the coming months, organisers of Sportel Winter have given up trying to pursue their February event at the Grimaldi Forum.
Businesses looking for a digital overhaul will have up to 70% of the project paid for by the government in a recovery package designed to help companies reach their digital potential.
0
Sign up to our FREE Newsletter
By signing up you agree to receive daily news emails frommonacolife.net. We respect your privacy and will not spam you!
SBM has closed all of its hotels in Monaco except the Hôtel de Paris and the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, accommodating long-term guests and those who are unable to return home.
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco has met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace, discussing everything from the Paris Agreement to the rights of French citizens working in Monaco.
A statement released by the Palace reads: “Our common destiny, forged throughout our history, is enriched by the constant cooperation between the two states, the development of Franco-Monegasque employment and the affirmation of shared great ambitions. These concern in particular the protection of the environment, the fight against climate change, the defense of biodiversity and the preservation of the oceans.”
The President of the French Republic and the Sovereign Prince of Monaco reaffirmed their commitment to work together in the implementation of the Paris Agreement, in view of COP25. They also decided to move forward together to develop, through a working group, the statutes of the Fondation Albert 1er, which is responsible for the Maison des Oceans in Paris and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.
Meanwhile, the two heads of state discussed the negotiation of an Association Agreement between Monaco and the European Union, in which the Principality and the French Republic can develop a mode of cooperation adapted to the realities and challenges of the 21st century, taking into account the specifics of Monaco and their bilateral relationship; the evolution of the situation of French citizens living in Monaco for several generations, who contribute to the history, social and economic stability of Monaco; and the daily life of French employees who participate directly in its economic dynamism, and in particular the question of their possible access to preferential housing in neighboring communities.
Finally, Prince Albert II invited President Emmanuel Macron and his wife to visit the Principality of Monaco for an official visit.
Top photo: Prince Albert and President Emmanuel Macron, courtesy Prince's Palace