Over the last few days, fraudulent emails in the name of the Monegasque Police Department that threaten “criminal proceedings for acts of a sexual nature” have been arriving in the inboxes of residents in the Principality.
The clumsily written emails, sent from a number of unofficial email addresses, allege that the recipient has been implicated in “criminal proceedings for acts of a sexual nature”. The receiver is asked to open a PDF document, which is sent as an attachment, and to send it back as a reply to the email.
The Monegasque government, via an official communiqué released on Thursday 18th May, has said that the emails have been widely distributed in an “untargeted manner”.
“This is a malicious attempted phishing campaign with the purpose of defrauding potential victims who would respond to the message,” reads the communiqué. “This false summons refers to alleged “criminal proceedings for acts of a sexual nature” brought against the recipient of the message.”
The advice of the government is to: avoid opening the PDF, not respond to the sender, immediately inform Monaco’s cyber department of the email via cyber@gouv.mc, and to then delete the original fraudulent email.
The government also confirmed that the Police Department – or Direction de la Sûreté Publique – never sends summons of this type by email.
“The only email addresses used by government services are of the following type: xxxx@gouv.mc,” the official statement continues. “Some email addresses are specially created to look like legitimate addresses except for a small detail such as replacing the letter i with the letter l, adding a dot or any other character, in order to create confusion.”
AS Monaco Basketball finished the regular Betclic Elite Season with a defeat against Blois (102-76), but fielded an inexperienced team, for which Roca Team captain Yakuba Ouattara apologised pre-match.
“We apologise to the Blois fans,” were the words of Ouattara in a strange build-up to a dead rubber. Whilst stating that the club “respect every team in the division, including Blois and their fans,” the Roca Team simply couldn’t afford to field an experienced side on Tuesday with the club’s first-ever Euroleague Final Four performance coming up in Kaunas on Friday.
None of the other four teams competing in the Final Four, including semi-final opponents Olympiacos, are playing this weak, forcing Sasa Obradovic to search for sub-optimal solutions.
Career-best stats for Yoann Makoundou
“The schedule problems don’t allow us to find an ideal solution. It is our responsibility to prepare our team in the best possible conditions a few days out from a historic moment for Monaco and for French basketball,” said Obradovic.
The match will be unmemorable and inconsequential, with only Yoan Makoundou and Matthew Strazel the only first-team representatives in a youthful side. Both are still Roca Team youth prospects themselves, but were forced to take on a more experienced role against Blois.
Makoundou (28 points) registered a career-highest score, but it wasn’t enough as Blois won each quarter on their way to a comprehensive victory (102-76). Monaco still finish the season top of the Betclic Elite, and will face Strasbourg in the quarter-finals of the post-season.
However, for now, the focus is firmly on the Euroleague. It will be a historic night in Kaunas for the Roca Team on Friday, regardless of the outcome. Ouattara has described Olympiacos as “the best Euroleague team”, and the battle promises to be fierce.
When Formula 1 driver Michael McKee wrote to Prince Rainier III in 1960 asking to open a new gallery in the Principality, no one would have believed the result would be a vibrant place for the contemporary art scene that still thrives today.
Tales of former racing car drivers abound in a place like Monaco, where the Grand Prix has taken on legends of mythic proportions, but not many have taken such a volte face as Michael McKee.
RACING YEARS
McKee was a racing driver of the old school, who took part in the Monaco Grand Prix Junior in 1960, Le Mans and Goodwood, racing alongside the likes of Stirling Moss and Graham Hill. His promising career ended early, not due to a tragedy like many drivers of his time, but due to a flurry of amazing opportunities.
“At the end of the 1961 racing season, I decided to retire from motor racing,” says McKee in his as-yet unpublished autobiography, “not because I had lost interest, but because I had developed a number of businesses and wanted to expand them for the future.”
BIRTH OF MONACO FINE ARTS
One of these businesses was a budding career in art. McKee had already dabbled in art in a small way, buying up works by 19th century students from a local art school. This led to the opening of a gallery in Norwich to showcase these and other works, then another in London.
Wanting to expand his horizons, and on a whim knowing that Prince Rainier III was interested in making Monaco a cultural hub, McKee wrote to him and asked if he could open a new gallery in the Principality.
That simple letter made into the hands of the Prince and before long, McKee had been invited to come to Monaco where he met with the Prince’s chief minister, Pierre Notari, who secured a space for him on Casino Square. It was a windowless hole in the wall that had been a former ladies cloakroom for Le Sporting d’Hiver, but McKee knew a good prospect when he saw one and leapt at it.
A racing car sponsored by Monaco Fine Arts at a recent Historic Grand Prix in the Principality. Photo supplied and owned by the McKee family
CELEBRITY CLINTELE
This hole in the wall became Monaco Fine Arts, which opened its door in 1976 with glamourous patrons who included Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, who were great supporters, David Niven, Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant. The gallery featured an eclectic – and exclusive – mix of works by established contemporary artists sharing wall space alongside impressionist masters, such as Renoir. It was soon a place that art lovers from all walks could appreciate.
That being said, Monaco’s clientele was far different than London’s. Here they wanted more pieces in the modern art vein, which meant McKee had to decide what made the cut.
“I admit that when it came to choosing works to display in the gallery, I had to rely on nearly 50 years of experience,” said McKee. “Obviously many artists would come into the gallery offering their work. On average, we had five people a week coming in and we probably ended up accepting two a year. I was selling between 80 and 90% of paintings by modern living artists because they were a lot easier. You could ring them up and commission work that exactly suited the client’s needs.”
The gallery quickly became so popular that McKee was even asked to sponsor a Formula 1 race car driven by Ronnie Petersen at the 1976 Monaco Grand Prix; a rare example of a small private business advertising at an enormous event where big corporate sponsors reign.
McKee’s interest in racing, and art, continued until his death in 2016 at the age of 82, just a few years after selling Monaco Fine Arts. The building has now been demolished and replaced with One Monte-Carlo, but the gallery still thrives at its location on Avenue Henry Dunant under the direction of Evelina Giannoulidi.
Monaco Life explains the latest rules and restrictions on watering gardens, potagers and green spaces that are affecting residents in the Principality and the French Riviera.
Authorities in Monaco recently made the decision to declare and activate a drought plan. Stage Two or the “alerte” level came into force on Saturday 13th May.
This brings the Principality somewhat into line with much of southern France – and further afield – where water restrictions have been in place since early 2023.
Alongside new rules on car washing, which is forbidden unless at professional sites with high-pressure equipment and water recycling systems, and boat cleaning, which has been limited to specific time periods, one of the principal targets in Monaco’s restrictions is green spaces.
Lawns, flower beds and pots
For areas classed as alert level, which includes Monaco and some parts of the Alpes-Maritimes and Var, watering is only permitted between 8pm and 8am to reduce evaporation. The amount of water used should also be reduced by 20%.
In the areas that find themselves in an “alerte renforcée” or “crise” classification, watering is banned except for trees and shrubs that have been planted directly in the ground for less than a year and outside of water restrictions. In this case, night-time watering is permitted.
Vegetable gardens
Similarly, vegetable gardens and potagers can also only be watered between 8pm and 8am. The difference here is that vegetable plots in the highest “crise” level of water restrictions can continue to be watered at night if they have a drip irrigation system installed.
Ponds and fountains
Under Monaco’s new rules, public and private fountains are closed unless they operate “on a closed circuit or using a push button system”. Residents are also banned from filling, topping up or emptying garden ponds unless they important to local wildlife.
Swimming pools and jacuzzis
The filling of whirlpools, jacuzzis, paddling pools and public or private swimming pools is now prohibited in Monaco unless “absolutely necessary” or as part of works already underway. Similar rules apply over the border in France.
The European Union’s economic forecast this spring is decidedly rosier than winter’s, with growth expected to reach 1% in 2023.
Back in winter 2022, the economic outlook of growth in the European Union (EU) was a not-so-exciting 0.8% for 2023, with 2024’s forecast doubling to 1.6%.
These figures have since been revised upwards, after the bloc saw a better-than-expected start to the year. Now the forecast for growth is sitting at a solid 1% for 2023 and 2024’s projections at 1.7%.
GDP UP, ENERGY PRICES DOWN
Similar upward trends have been shown for gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which is now predicted to be 1.1% this year and 1.6% next. The only rise that is not so welcome is inflationary pressures, which have gone up since winter to an estimated 5.8% in 2023 and 2.8% in 2024.
The brighter picture is thought to be in part due to the ability of the Schengen community to limit the effects of the war in Ukraine, including enduring the energy crisis, which turned out to be more temporary and less dramatic than anticipated thanks to rapid branching out of supply chains and a drop in gas usage.
“Wholesale prices of gas and electricity in the EU have come down significantly from the peaks of last year, and continued declining even after the winter forecast,” said the EU Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni. “Thanks to effective diversification of supply and a sizeable fall in consumption – also supported by mild winter temperatures – the major concern for the European economy, that is a disruptive shortage of gas supply, did not materialise.”
LABOUR MARKET STRONG
The job market’s strength and record low unemployment of 6% in March 2023 have made for a powerful tool in fighting economic slowdown. Employment growth is anticipated to only react slightly to slower growth, and is forecast at 0.5%, before going down slightly in 2024 to 0.4%.
Wages have gone up since last year, but inflation has chipped away at any gains employees would have seen. On the positive side, with the labour market being tight, more wage hikes are thought to be coming in several countries to ease strain.
PUBLIC DEFICITS DOWN
The pandemic and then the energy crisis brought on by the war led to extraordinary public spending, with the EU aggregate government deficit in 2022 at 3.4% of the GDP. This year, with Covid and energy support measures being phased out, the deficits are expected to fall to 3.1% and then to 2.4% in 2024.
The bottom line: recession has been avoided, growth is subdued but, all in all, economies are bouncing back at a slow and steady pace in the EU, giving reason to be optimistic.
Artcurial’s Monaco Auction Week is back this summer with an incredible array of watches, jewellery and handbags, but there’s also a new-for-this-year addition: a design department.
For some seriously impressive luxury accessories, sculptures and objets d’art, Artcurial’s summer Monaco Auction Week can’t be beat. The event, planned for 16th to 19th July at the Hotel Hermitage, is always a popular occasion, bringing together some of the most exquisite pieces to be had, including rare gems from private collections that haven’t been on the market for years, if ever.
WATCHES
The watch auctions are split into two with the men’s timepieces going under the gavel on 16th July at 6pm and the women’s on 17th July at 2pm.
A plethora of rare and vintage watches will be up for sale, including a 2007 men’s FP JOURNE Tourbillon Souverain platinum wristwatch with power reserves that is estimated to go for €150,000 to €300,000.
The FP JOURNE Tourbillon Souverain 2007. Photo credit: Artcurial
Le Temps est Féminin, the women’s sale, features a 1968 Daytona Panda with a cream dial and black sub-dials. A piece like this is almost impossible to find except at exclusive events like Monaco Auction Week.
“For several years, Le Temps est Féminin has established itself as the most glamourous watchmaking event on the French Riviera. Whether it’s the astonishing creativity of the 1950s, or the extravagance of the 1970s, our next sale will discover original pieces that we rarely see appear on the market,” said Marie Sanna-Legrand, Director of the Collection Watchmaking Department at Artcurial.
JEWELLERY
Also on 16th and 17th July, at 2pm and 6pm respectively, the auction house will hope to revisit the success of their winter event in January, which saw fine jewellery and stones sales bring in €3.3 million.
This department is packed with treasures, including a gorgeous platinum ring set with an 8.44 carat pear-shaped diamond, certified colour I with VVS2 purity, with an estimated going price of €60,000 to €80,000.
“Boucheron, Mauboussin, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccelatti, René Boivin, etc… Our next sale already augurs surprises and very good auctions… Lovers of precious stones will be spoiled for choice in the colors: white, blue, red or green,” enthuses Julie Valade, Director of the Artcurial Jewellery Department.
HANDBAGS
Hermès and other luxury brands come up on 18th July at 2pm. For two decades, this has been a highlight of the auction season in the Principality and once again, the choices will be unbeatable. One example is a 2018 Hermès limited edition Birkin Touch 30 in sapphire blue bull calf leather and navy blue matte alligator. This elegant bag is set to be sold for between €22,000 and €32,000.
Also on 18th July, at 5pm, the fourth edition of the Monaco Sculptures auction will be held. Artcurial will take over gardens across the Principality in an incredible display of 40 or so pieces that will be on display until the end of July.
NEW FOR 2023: DESIGN
Finally on 19th July, a first for Artcurial’s Monaco Auction Week: a design showcase coming from a private collection of transalpine design. More than 90 pieces from architects and designers such as Gio Ponti, Gino Sarfatti, Fausto Melotti and Gabriella Crespi will be up for grabs along with exceptional pieces from the Campana Brothers, such as the Settimio cabinet. Only three of this piece exist, including one on display at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris.
“It is an honor to present this magnificent collection of Italian design at the Artcurial luxe sales in Monaco,” said Justine Despretz, Artcurial’s Italian Design Consultant. “This collection tells us the story of a woman passionate and in love with art, architecture and design, but above all with Italian know-how and craftsmanship.”
For a full list of all items at the auction and to see other events hosted by Artcurial, please click here.
Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.
Photos courtesy of Artcurial
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