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Planes and trains to be heavily impacted by 23rd March pension strike

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/03/2023
sncf avantage

The protests over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform bill, which has raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, will carry on despite the bill being a done deal and two no-confidence votes in the legislature failing to topple the government.  

And so it continues.  

Another round of nationwide inter-union strikes against the now-passed pension reform bill in France are coming on Thursday 23rd March, with transportation being the most heavily affected locally.  

TRANSPORT 

The SNCF and Nice’s Lignes d’Azur network have both indicated they will join in the demonstrations. SNCF disruptions are not yet known, but a timetable is expected to be put out the evening before Thursday to help commuters manoeuvre through the mess.  

Lignes d’Azur has already announced there will be no trams and very few buses.  

Tram lines 1, 2 and 3 will be stopped as will bus lines 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 57, 64, 70, 81, 99 and Cadam East. 

The public transport service for people with reduced mobility, Mobil’Azur, will also not be running. Additionally, the Lignes d’Azur sales offices and all the Parcazur facilities will be closed. 

France airports could see widespread cancellations as the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has already asked airlines to scale back flights at some airports due to the strike action by air traffic controllers.   

Real time flight information out of Nice Airport can be found here for departures and here for arrivals.   

EDUCATION 

This sector is cause for concern as exams are approaching and many are wondering if they will be affected by the protests.  

Unions “have chosen” to not call exam strikes, noting that those who have been gearing up for these tests have been working hard and deserve to take exams in the “best possible conditions”.  

A joint press release from unions expressly states: “[The students] have been preparing for these tests with their teachers for several months, and very often experience the usual stress when approaching an exam. We therefore consider that it is necessary to guarantee them the best conditions for passing the tests.”  

UNSUCCESSFUL NO-CONFIDENCE VOTES 

Two no-confidence votes put forward Monday in the hopes of dislodging the current government, citing discontent for ramming through the pension reform act using Article 49.3 of the Constitution as the reason, have both failed.  

The first from LIOT was a close call with a slim nine vote margin, but the second from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally missed the mark by a far bigger proportion.  

The result means the bill is all but adopted, for now at least. The bill must still pass checks on its constitutionality, meaning parts could be invalidated before it is enacted.  

  

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Photo by Monaco Life

Ghizlan El Glaoui showcases ‘Once upon a woman’ at Prince’s Foundation headquarters

by: Cassandra Tanti
21/03/2023

Painter Ghizlan El Glaoui has opened her exhibition titled ‘Once upon a woman’ at the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, where it will be on display until 30th June.

The inauguration took place symbolically on 8th March, International Women’s Day.

This collaboration between the artist and the Prince Albert Foundation is full of meaning, considering the Monegasque institution, through its commitment to advance planetary health, promotes many projects that support women. They include an initiative in Burkina Faso that trains and supports older women from different backgrounds in rural areas to facilitate access to sustainable energy for 250,000 people across 250 villages.

Similarly, the EGALES project (Gender Equality and Access to Electricity in Senegal) aims to sustainably improve the working conditions and income of 600 women by involving them in the agricultural activity of their country.

It is a strategy that remains at the heart of the Foundation in 2023, and it is why artist Ghizlan El Glaoui chose to exhibit her works at the institution. From now until 30th June, the public can see her remarkable female portraits, which include Geishas, Berber women, Frida Kahlo and Grace Kelly, as well as many anonymous faces.

Growing up in a culture where women were not encouraged to stand out, Ghizlan El Glaoui quickly expressed her desire for freedom by painting women with their faces uncovered, on luminous backgrounds, in classic format or on monumental sails.

After exhibiting in Marrakech, London, Madrid and Monaco, the painter will take pride of place at the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, highlighting the paths of women of yesterday and today, from here and elsewhere, and sharing the same values as Monegasque Institution.

‘Once upon a woman’ exhibition

Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

Until 30th June by appointment.

 

READ MORE:

Interview: Artist Ghizlan El Glaoui

 

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.  

 

 

The Oceanographic Museum is hiring

by: Cassandra Tanti
21/03/2023
People looking at the aquarium

Monaco’s most popular tourist attraction, The Oceanographic Museum, has 39 positions to fill for the busy summer season. Here’s how to apply.

On Wednesday 5th April, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco will hold its recruitment day, from 10am to 4pm.

Up for grabs are 39 seasonal, temporary and fixed-term contracts from April in the various reception, entertainment, boutique, cashier, sales and exhibition departments.

On recruitment day, the heads of the departments will meet individually with the candidates previously registered on the website www.oceano.org, where they will have an opportunity to virtually meet the teams, discover the different jobs offered and understand their missions and challenges.

Net-Zero Industry Act to give priority to green tech investments

by: Elsa Carpenter
21/03/2023

The newly announced Net-Zero Industry Act plans to make Europe a beacon of green technology and manufacturing.  

Announced by President Ursula von der Leyen as a part of the wider Green Deal Industrial Plan, the proposed Net-Zero Industry Act seeks to scale up the manufacturing of clean technologies in the EU and ensure the bloc is well-equipped for the clean energy transition. 

“We need a regulatory environment that allows us to scale up the clean energy transition quickly,” said von der Leyen. “The Net-Zero Industry Act will do just that. It will create the best conditions for those sectors that are crucial for us to reach net-zero by 2050: technologies like wind turbines, heat pumps, solar panels, renewable hydrogen as well as CO2 storage. Demand is growing in Europe and globally, and we are acting now to make sure we can meet more of this demand with European supply.” 

A focus on technologies that make a “significant contribution to decarbonisation”

To make the Net-Zero Industry Act work, the European Commission (EC) plans to cut red tape and make investment and grants easier to obtain. Priority will be given to the types of projects that make a “significant contribution to decarbonisation”, putting them to the front of the queue for funding. 

According to the European Commission, the act will “create better conditions to set up net-zero projects in Europe and attract investments, with the aim that the Union’s overall strategic net-zero technologies manufacturing capacity approaches or reaches at least 40% of the Union’s deployment needs by 2030”. 

Industry competitiveness and job creation

The goal is to accelerate progress towards the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets as well as the transition to climate neutrality all while “boosting the competitiveness of EU industry, creating quality jobs and supporting the EU’s efforts to become energy independent”.  

Skilled workers will be needed to run the show, so the EU is also supporting training via Net-Zero Industry Academies, overseen by the project with an eye to building the workforce of tomorrow.   

The proposal also includes reforms for the electricity market’s design in order to lessen reliance on imports – a lesson learned the hard way after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – and push cleaner energy supplies to the forefront.   

The tabled proposal will now go the next level, where it will be discussed and finessed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, before being enacted. 

 

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Photo source: Zbynek Burival for Unsplash

 

 

Vast Valbonne estate with ties to JFK goes on sale for €31.5 million

by: Elsa Carpenter
21/03/2023
valbonne JFK kennedys

A stunning 18-hectare estate enjoyed by a young JFK and his family during the summer months has been listed by Sotheby’s International Realty for €31.5 million. 

Property such as this is rare even for the south of France. Set in 18 hectares of woodland, olive groves and wildflower meadows, Château de Beaumont is a true haven of peace and tranquility that boasts an unobstructed view down to the Mediterranean from its location at the crest of its own hill between Valbonne and Mougins.  

It was built by French architect Jacques Couelle in the 1920s for the Carrs, a wealthy American family who had a genuine appreciation for the historic buildings of the region. In the decades that followed, it would become the holiday home of the young John F. Kennedy, later the President of the United States, and his family, who spent their summers enjoying its naturalistic beauty and charm while his father, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, held a role as US Ambassador to Great Britain. 

Locals driving between Valbonne and Mougins along the Route de Cannes will have likely glimpsed horses grazing on the meadows at the perimetre of the property, but it is far harder to see the magnificent château, which is shielded by a forest of native woodland.  

The park has two natural water sources, several ornamental pools and fountains, an olive grove and gorgeous landscaped flower gardens. In terms of modern amenities, the focal point is the 20-metre heated marble swimming pool and pool house, but it also has a tennis court and an aviary.  

1,160 square metres of living space is split between the main “house”, numerous staff dependencies and a partially finished 150-square-metre Provençal house near the entrance to the estate.  

The principal residence has nine ensuite bedrooms across three floors and all the trappings you would expect from a luxury home of this scale, such as a dedicated cinema room and a temperature-controlled wine cellar.  

Further photos of Château de Beaumont can be found here. Click on the images below to enlarge…

 

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Photos courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

First ever European Sushi Championship to be hosted by The Niwaki in Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/03/2023
European Sushi Championship

10 of Europe’s finest sushi masters will go knife-to-knife at the inaugural European Sushi Championship in March, a competition set to be hosted by Monaco’s own The Niwaki.

Top tier sushi chefs from all across the continent – Lyfoung Vameng will represent Monaco – are coming together to compete for the title of European Master Sushi Chef in an event that will take Japanese haute cuisine to its limits on 27th March. 

“Sushi is an art in its own right, well-recognised in France, a country of gastronomy par excellence,” says Julien Panet, the event’s organiser. “The goal is to elevate this iconic symbol of Japanese gastronomy at European level. We have talented chefs who cultivate the excellence of this specialty, and all are inspired by their own cultures… The level will undoubtedly be very high!” 

The candidates will be competing for a panel of expert jurists including The Niwaki’s own Chef Wagner Spadacio, the vice-World Champion Sushi Chef in 2018 and French Sushi Champion in 2017. 

“In this competition, which offers an original format and leaves room for creativity, participants will be able to express their technique and their own interpretation of the art of sushi,” says Spadacio. “This event brings a whole new dimension to the art of sushi while promoting good practices in the consumption of seafood products.” 

The contestants will be tested on two criteria. The first is an hour-long preparatory exercise, where chefs must prepare the raw materials, presenting all products intended to be used to the jury. The second will be a 60-minute creative test, where the chefs will need to perfectly prepare 40 to 50 pieces of sushi, with nigiri, maki, uramaki, kazari-maki, kazari-sushi, vegetarian sushi and 15 pieces of sashimi all required. Additionally, the competitors will select two six-piece signature dishes, prepared separately, for tasting, with one being a vegetarian option using Koppert Cress microgreen products.  

“The technique will, of course, be analysed with precision. In a gastronomic competition of this rank, it goes without saying that the mastery of gestures and of the product is acquired. We will also give great importance to the chef’s sensitivity and to the visual harmony and flavours offered,” Panet enthuses.  

The winner of day will walk away €1,000 richer and after the event, which kicks off at 1pm, there will be a cocktail reception and awards ceremony to celebrate the day. It’s a “can’t miss” event for sushi lovers and fans of The Niwaki alike. 

    

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Photo by The Niwaki