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Parks, beaches now out of bounds

by: Cassandra Tanti
21/03/2020

The government has banned people from accessing coastal areas, public parks and gardens throughout Monaco as it ramps up lockdown measures. The order was made on Friday 20th March and took effect immediately.
Beaches that are now closed to the public are:

  • The breakwater around the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club
  • The Méridien Beach Plaza private beach
  • The entire Larvotto Cove
  • The Portier Cove
  • The dykes of Port Hercule including the Lucciana pier, the Rainier-III quay and the Stefano-Casiraghi promenade
  • The Pêcheurs beach and path
  • The entire eastern bank of Fontvieille
  • The western bank of Fontvieille that is part of Monaco

“For reasons of health precautions, knowing that the Covid-19 virus remains active for several hours on inert surfaces, the Prince’s Government has also decided to close access to public parks and gardens as well as the use of children’s play areas until further notice.”
The government reminds citizens that – in addition to essential business trips which cannot be postponed – only individual trips (not in groups), brief and close to the home, are authorised and for the following sole reasons:

  • To purchase supplies necessary for professional activity and purchases of basic necessities in establishments and local shops authorised to welcome the public;
  • For health reasons;
  • For compelling family reasons, for assistance to vulnerable persons or childcare;
  • For the individual physical activity of people, excluding any collective sports practice, and for the needs of pets.

“The government urges all residents to respect the provisions, the only effective way to break the chain of transmission of the virus. Everyone is responsible for everyone’s safety.”
 
 

Boosting train services to Monaco

by: Cassandra Tanti
30/01/2020

Monaco is pushing for France and Italy to increase their train services for workers travelling in to and out of Monaco each day.
Monaco’s Minister of Equipment, Environment and Town Planning Marie-Pierre Gramaglia welcomed a delegation from the European Commission to the Monaco train station on Thursday 30th January as part of its two-day mission in the southern region of the Mediterranean Corridor – a railway infrastructure project that crosses six countries and covers close to 10,000 kilometres.
Iveta Radicova, EU Coordinator of the Mediterranean Corridor, was accompanied by Vice Delegate for Transport, Intermodality and Travel in the PACA Region Philippe Tabarot, and officials from the Nice Metropolis, Liguria and Piedmont regions.

© Direction de la Communication / Michael Alesi

The objective of the meeting was to present cross-border issues on the Nice-Monaco-Ventimiglia-Genoa axis. “As an economic player at the heart of this vast regional area, our country welcomes nearly 45,000 French and Italian employees every day who access their workplace by road or rail,” said Ms Gramaglia. “We are promoting a modal shift to public transport with the objective of reducing the flow of light vehicles by around 20% by 2030. This represents nearly 13,000 incoming and outgoing vehicles and 10,000 internal vehicles. This is why developing access to Monaco by rail is one of the priorities of our mobility policy.”
The train, and more specifically the TER, represents an essential alternative to cars in accessing Monaco, with 6.4 million journeys made by TER trains to and from Monaco in 2018.
“We are campaigning to improve and intensify the current offer of rail services in the Principality, with an increase in supply during morning and evening peak hours,” said the minister.
 
 

Hollywood rallies behind Prince Albert

by: Cassandra Tanti
30/01/2020

Academy Award nominated actress Uma Thurman will be presenting HSH Prince Albert with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hollywood for the Global Ocean Gala in February, recognising his leadership and commitment to the planet and ocean conservation. 
The gala, to be held on Thursday 6th February, is being hosted by philanthropist Milutin Gatsby and supported by Chopard, who designed and crafted the exclusive Lifetime Achievement Award.
Uma Therman, who is also a dedicated conservationist and civil rights activist, said she was honoured to be presenting Prince Albert with the award. “I’m delighted to be part of the ongoing projects associated with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in helping to take necessary action on climate change and the protection of our planet,” she said.
Meanwhile, Golden Globe winning actress and Hollywood icon Sharon Stone will present and announce the ‘Grand Earth Pledge’, an exclusive group of 33 ‘Advocates for the Planet’ ready to join forces with Prince Albert to face climate and ocean emergency, prevent the earth’s decline and preserve the future of humanity.
“There is a climate emergency, the earth is in decline and the fate of humanity is at stake,” said Sharron Stone. “We need to face this reality and decide to act now. I am delighted to be part of the Grand Earth Pledge, a group of amazing people that are taking the lead along HSH Prince Albert, to make a stand for our one and only planet.”
Chris Isaak and Macy Gray will perform at the exclusive gala dinner, hosted at a private estate in Beverly Hills for 250 privileged philanthropists and A-list celebrities.
“At a time of increasing natural disasters and climate threats impacting the delicate balance of our planet and the oceans of the world, this gala and its special award and pledge recognises the importance of shining a spotlight and taking action on these urgent issues,” said Milutin Gatsby.
Vice President of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Olivier Wenden will also be present at the awards, which will acknowledge the Prince’s “outstanding commitment to the planet, its rich biodiversity and its fragile eco-system”. Through his foundation, launched in 2006, more than 575 projects have been supported to date. The projects target three main geographical regions: the Mediterranean basin, the Polar regions and the least developed countries, all of which are heavily impacted by the effects of climate change, the loss of biodiversity and urgent threats to their water resources.
Notable achievements by the foundation include saving the Bluefin tuna species from extinction, encouraging the effective development of Marine Protected Areas, fighting plastic pollution in the Mediterranean and convincing the IPCC to produce a special report on the impact of climate change on the ocean and cryosphere.
Prince Albert is one of the world’s leading advocates for the planet, succeeding in gathering philanthropists and international artists to save the ocean during The Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean, the next edition of which will take place on Thursday 24th September 2020 in Monaco.
Photo: Prince Albert II of Monaco ©Agency Sabine Brauer Photos J.Reetz
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Michelin Guide reveals new green label

by: Cassandra Tanti
28/01/2020

The world’s most renowned restaurant guide is now awarding chefs deemed to be producing “sustainable gastronomy”. The Michelin Guide on Monday released its 2020 edition and while there were no major announcements for Monaco, the introduction of this new “green” category came as a welcome surprise.
The 2020 edition of the French version of the guide features a new green leaf motif, awarded to 51 chefs whose establishment is also awarded with a Plate, Bib Gourmand, or 1, 2 or 3 stars. The new category is being touted by the guide as an important reform.
“The Guide is helping promote the chefs who have taken responsibility by preserving resources and embracing biodiversity, reducing food waste and reducing the consumption of non-renewable energy,” said Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of Michelin Guides.
These chefs and their sustainable initiatives will be highlighted on the various platforms of the Michelin Guide throughout the year.
“The ambition of our approach is to amplify the scope of the good and ingenious practices of chefs by putting them in the spotlight,” said Mr Poullennec. “The ideas, methods and know-how developed by these chefs will thus help raise awareness of an entire sector to its customers and the general population.”
The so-called “gastronomy bible”, which received a relatively low-key launch in Paris, contains 3,439 restaurant listings in France and Monaco, 628 of them starred. New three-star ratings went to Christopher Coutanceau, who has a seafood restaurant in La Rochelle, Kei Kobayashi, the Japanese-born chef at Kei restaurant in Paris, and L’Oustau de Baumanière, a family restaurant at Les baux de Provence that lost its third star in 1954.

La Table de l’Alpaga chef Anthony Bisquerra with Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of Michelin Guides.

There were 11 restaurants given two stars for the first time, including La Voile at Ramatuelle, where chef Éric Canino “composes tastes as a homage to his Var homeland”; La Table de l’Alpaga in Megève, where chef Anthony Bisquerra “gives mountain cuisine its acclaim”; and gourmet dessert restaurant Sarkara at the K2 hotel in Courchevel, where chef Sébastien Vauxion “shakes up the rules and transforms vegetables, fruit and other ingredients into incredibly light and sweet dishes.”
Meanwhile, Pure & V in Nice was one of 49 new one-star restaurants. Using 90% organic produce, the restaurant was awarded for its mystery menu delivered by a Danish chef and a young sommelier with a penchant for natural wines. The guide called it a “sleek, canteen vibe restaurant – in other words, flawless.”
According to Michelin, restaurants are selected on four criteria: the quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef reflected in their cuisine, and lastly value for money and consistency between visits.
One star denotes “high quality cooking”, two stars “excellent cooking”, and three stars “exceptional cuisine”.
 
 

Thierry Neuville’s electrifying win at Monte-Carlo Rally

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/01/2020

Thierry Neuville has snatched victory from Toyota’s defending champ Sebastien Ogier in the 2020 World Rally Championship season-opening Monte-Carlo Rally which ended Sunday.

Neuville was on absolutely brilliant form, winning both stages of the first loop of the race, then beating Ogier by 1.4 seconds in the La Bollene Vesubie-Piera Cava race and following that with an exciting Wolf Power Stage win-by-a-whisper, making the Hyundi i20 driver the victor in all four stages of the day, and giving him his first WRC Monte-Carlo Rally win.

“We had an incredible feeling the last couple of days and we were able to catch back the time,” said Neuville after the win. “We have been chasing this win for a while but we showed our performance this weekend and it’s a great way to start the season.” 

Elfyn Evans went into the day in a solid second place, but fell behind the leader by over 11 seconds, and eventually came in a respectable third after his Toyota teammate.  

Sebastien Loeb had a disappointing day when his Hyundai i20 Coupe’s tire was wrecked during the final stage of the first loop. The best driver in WRC history, therefore, came in sixth overall after fourth place Esapekka Lappi and fifth place Kalle Rovanpera.

Defending champion Ott Tanak suffered a huge crash after he lost control of his Hyundai i20, the car cartwheeling before rolling several metres down an embankment. Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja emerged unscathed from the shunt.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7sy1vEHJbH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The race covered a total of over 304 kilometres and was raced from the 23rd to the 26th of January through a variety of challenging conditions. Starting at the Quai Albert 1er and ending at Casino Square, it spanned sixteen stages, some snow and ice covered.

 
Photo: Automobile Club of Monaco
 
 

MEB reveals rich program for 2020

by: Cassandra Tanti
22/01/2020

More than 350 economic players came together for the first MEB Members Meeting of the year, during which a full calendar of events for 2020 was unveiled.
MEB members gathered under the gilding of the Salle des Arts, a faithful reproduction of the ceremonial hall of the former Sporting d’Hiver, and in the ultra-contemporary spaces adjoining it.
The event was an opportunity for MEB Executive Director General Guillaume Rose to launch a major survey of the 540 member companies under the slogan ‘The Monaco Economic Board, at your service’. Featuring both multiple choice questions and more open questions, the survey aims to give members an opportunity to raise improvement points on the proposed actions, garner expectations (new types of operations, new destinations, etc.) and validate the objectives of the association. The results of this survey will be announced at the general assembly on 19th March.

MEB Executive Director Guillaume Rose

Mr Rose then presented the 2020 agenda, which includes an impressive number of overseas operations.
During the first semester, economic missions will be organised in Novosibirsk, the third largest city in Russia, with the Ballets de Monte-Carlo from 19th to 21st February, then in Versailles on 30th and 31st March for a performance by Cecilia Bartoli and the Musiciens du Prince – Monaco at the Opéra du château.
The MEB will then be in Rome and Florence on 26th and 27th May, followed by Montenegro, Saint Petersburg, Antibes and Budapest. At the end of the year, Toronto, Montreal, Milan, Tokyo and Amsterdam are on the program. As for the Monegasque pavilion at the Dubai International Expo, the MEB plans to make several targeted trips.
In terms of economic promotion, and in collaboration with AMAF, the MEB considers the United Kingdom, Benelux and Switzerland as preferred destinations, while the world of luxury yachting will be further explored in Singapore and Dubai. An operation will also be organised in Washington in collaboration with Monaco Private Label.
The MEB will continue to be very active in the Principality with economic conferences planned with leading speakers, including Chief Economist of Coface Julien Marcilly on 3rd March, in welcoming delegations, such as Austria on 26th March, and organising training and events with its partners.
“More than ever, driven by the will of the Prince’s Government, the Monaco Economic Board wishes to be in tune with the expectations and aspirations of the Principality’s economic forces,” said Mr Rose. “The constant development of its networks, the strengthening of its partnerships and the dedication of its team are all assets to succeed in its missions.”
Photos: Courtesy MEB
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