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Euroleague boss visits Monaco with Roca Team’s future reportedly secured

by: Luke Entwistle
16/01/2023

Marshall Glickman, the head of the Euroleague, visited Monaco last week amid reports that the Roca Team’s participation in next year’s competition is already secured.

The Euroleague is the world’s second biggest basketball league, and AS Monaco Basketball made their debut in the competition last season. Sasa Obradovic’s men made a meteoric rise through the standings late in the season, guaranteeing their spot in this year’s competition. The Roca Team are currently first this year and are on course to secure a play-off spot.

In the context of this success, and following a renovation of the Salle Gaston Médecin in the summer, in line with Euroleague regulations, Glickman has visited the Principality, stating that he is “optimistic for the future” of basketball in the country.

Speaking to Monaco Info, Glickman said, “Monaco is a marvellous place and an interesting market because it is multicultural and that is very important for us.”

He continued, “Monaco are playing very well. They have won lots of matches, which has allowed them to get to first place and to stay there. With Oleksiy Yefimov, they have an excellent management team. There is a lot of investment and so we are optimistic for the future.”

There could be yet more reason for optimism. While the Monaco teams continues to prove its suitability to this level and are on course to secure a position in next year’s position through the play-offs, L’Équipe reports that its place may already have been booked.

According to the French publication, the Roca Team has already been given assurances behind the scenes that their participation in the 2023/24 edition of the competition is secured, regardless of performance. Assurances about Monaco’s continued presence on the European scene will be welcomed by decision-makers at the club, who have previously expressed plans for an even larger home court, which would not be situated within the Salle Gaston Médecin.

Monaco’s state minister, Pierre Dartout, who welcomed Glickman, alongside AS Monaco Basketball president Alkesej Fedoricsev, said “Basketball is on of the most attractive sports in the Principality and we have a team that plays for the [country’s] colours at the highest level.”

Dartout continued, “The fact that Monaco welcomes the biggest European clubs and also makes away trips is important and contributes to the attractivity of the Principality.”

Alongside the success of the men’s team, the women’s team, the MBA, is also enjoying an impressive rise. Having secured promotion last year, they are currently fifth in their new division after ringing in the New Year with a victory.

 

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Photo source: Monaco Communications Department 

Ladies Poker Power: Fighting AIDS and stereotypes

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/01/2023

An all-female charity poker tournament was held last Saturday at the Casino de Monte Carlo, giving women a chance to show they can play this male-dominated game just as well as the big boys.  

Poker is one of those games where an overwhelming majority of competitors are men. Only 5% of professional players are women, though a growing interest is bringing a more diverse talent pool to tables worldwide.  

On 14th January, 20 Monaco-based women took on the stereotype that poker is a man’s game by staging a charity tournament at the Casino de Monte Carlo, which also raised funds for Fight AIDS Monaco, the association founded and championed by Princess Stephanie.  

Ladies Poker Power showcased players from all levels, where an unexpected bonus was the honing of valuable skills such as art of negotiation, patience and discipline as well as learning from mistakes, risk management, and attention to other players, as known as reading a “poker face”.  

The ladies didn’t walk into the tournament completely unprepared, though. There were two induction sessions put on by the Casino on 10th December and 7th January, giving them the opportunity to learn the ins and outs as well as some of the finer points of the game.  

The night, which raised €10,000, was certainly a night of fun for the participants.  

Martine Elena won the tournament, while Cécile Noguer came second, and Valérie Bothy third.

It ended with an award ceremony and a cocktail where Pascal Camia, the director of Casinos, Hotels and Restaurants of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, Rudy Tarditi, the director of Monaco Casinos, Hulya Biren, a special advisor to Monaco’s Deputy President, and a representative from Fight Aids Monaco offered the winners some additional prizes.  

The first place winner will enjoy lunch at the Louis XV-Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo for two people. The second place winner won a lunch at Yannick Alléno’s Pavyllon at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo for two, and the third place contender received a lunch experience at Le Grill at the Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, also for two.  

  

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Photo source: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

Hundreds of jobs up for grabs at employment forum

by: Cassandra Tanti
16/01/2023

A huge recruitment drive is being held on 26th January as the region’s biggest employers, including Monte-Carlo SBM, look to fill hundreds of positions for this year.

The Employment and Training Forum (Forum de l’emploi et de la formation), now in its 18th year, is an opportunity to meet face-to-face with more than 50 employment and training companies throughout the French Riviera and Monaco.

Organised by SIVOM Villefranche-sur-Mer, in collaboration with Monaco Employment Services, the forum covers six municipalities and attracts more than 1,500 job seekers each year.

Monaco’s biggest employer, Monte-Carlo SBM, will be represented at the event for positions at its famed institutions including the Hôtel de Paris and the Hôtel Hermitage. They will be joined by other iconic hotels including the Metropole Monte-Carlo Hotel, the Grand Hôtel du Cap Ferrat, the Royal Riviera and the Fairmont Monte-Carlo.

Employment agencies such as Adecco will also be present, as well as the armed forces, security agencies, Super U, Fragonard, and the municipalities of Villefranch-sur-Mer, Beauilieu-sur-Mer, and Cap d’Ail.

Visitors should bring their CVs and communication skills! The positions offered will be based on CDD, CDI and temporary contracts.

The forum will be held at the Beulieu-sur-Mer gymnasium on 26th January from 9am to 1pm.

For a list of the jobs on offer, visit: https://emploi.sivom-villefranche.org/offres-demploi/

Interested parties can also send their CV to: recrutement@sbm.mc

 

Photo source: Ultimate Driving Tours/Lion Stone Events

Feel-good teddy bear auction this Friday

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/01/2023

Support a great cause and get plenty of cuddles in return with this one-of-a-kind charity event by celebrated Monaco florists Marco and Karelle Traverso. 

From their famous flower shop, Marco Traverso & Histoires d’Ours, on 3 Avenue Prince Pierre this Friday, the warm-hearted couple will auction off a special collection of teddy bears to raise money for the Monaco Disease Power association. 

They have been spreading smiles for nearly three decades from their namesake shop in Monaco, decorating homes and public venues with flowery creations that are “straight out of fairy tales”. This past holiday season, the couple took things one step farther, adorning locations all over the Principality with the world’s favourite cuddly toys, teddy bears, which found themselves at the foot of Christmas trees, behind the wheel of luxury cars, in a Michelin-star restaurant, strapped to the exteriors of buildings and filling their own shop to the brim.  

The sight was so charming that a famous auctioneer, Monaco-based Simon de Pury, took a photo of the bears at one of the locations and shared it on social media, citing the positive energy he felt from seeing these soft toys.  

The photos brought a frenzy of attention to the Traversos, who were struck with an idea: to hold a charity bear auction led by de Pury to raise awareness for the disabled, a cause particularly close to the heart of Karelle, who lost a sister at the age of 20 to severe physical and mental disabilities.  

De Pury responded almost immediately that he was behind the idea and the partnership set about organising the event.  

The bears are currently being “fostered” around the city – by Amapei, CMB, Bentley Club Monaco, Louis XV, APM Jewellery, Aline Blanche’s Inituitive Coaching, Simon de Pury, La Môme de Monaco, Kômo, Joliès Maison de Beauté, MIMI and Cartier – before they go under the gavel at 3.30pm on 20th January. And to warm the belly as well as the heart, hot chocolate and marshmallow bears will be on offer from Sparkling Van as well as sweets made by Chef Axel Monaco from cake shop Carolina Cake. 

For more information, please click here. 

 

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Photo by Monaco Life

Tourist taxes boost French Riviera coffers

by: Stephanie Horsman
13/01/2023

Airbnb paid the city of Nice €2.4 million in taxes last year, and almost €150 million to the entire country, as tourists returned in droves. Meanwhile, airlines are rushing to add flights to the US amid a boost in post-Covid travel.

The good times are back for the French hospitality industry if the latest reports from accommodation platform Airbnb are any indicators. The company has revealed it paid €148 million in tourist taxes to France in 2022, up 60% on the previous year.  

In France, tourist tax is paid by vacationers in addition to the price of accommodation given to the landlord, the hotelier or the owner, who then transfers it to the municipality. Its community-set level is between 1% to 5% of the nightly price, excluding tax, per person. 

Nice was the third biggest recipient of the tax benefit, receiving €2.4 million between November 2021 and October 2022. Only Paris, who beat all other municipalities by a country mile with €24.3 million, and Marseille who saw €2.8 million, got more.  

Other notable cities and towns in the region who got their piece of the pie were Cannes with €1.8 million, Antibes with €860,000, and Menton, which received €340,000. 

“These major cities thus benefit from the return of international travellers and major events, which again attract travellers to their territory,” said the platform, whose largest turnover in France is second in the world only to the United States.  

And it wasn’t just the big cities who collected. Nearly 30% of the tourist tax accumulated in France in 2022 was collected in rural municipalities with less than 3,500 inhabitants, roughly the same as in 2021. 

The airlines are also getting in on the game, with a number of new connections between France and the States rolling out this year. JetBlue, Norse Atlantic, French Bee and Air France as well as Delta, United and American are all are counting on the tourist trade to continue on this trend.   

On North Atlantic routes last summer, Air France reached a higher level of activity than summer 2019 in available seat-kilometres, a benchmark in the industry, with an 88% occupancy rate. Delta also reported a 12% higher profit margin than 2019, and United had 20% more passengers than that same year.   

This has all been in the midst of exploding fuel costs, which have pushed ticket prices up, though this clearly has not deterred travellers who are itching to get away, particularly to France. 

 

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Photo by Monaco Life

Get a box of Monaco oranges for free!

by: Stephanie Horsman
13/01/2023

The annual collection of fruit from the Principality’s bitter orange trees is set to start Monday, and they are all up for grabs so find a box and get ready to take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity! 

The gardeners from the Department of Urban Development (DAU) have the same task every year, with winter the ideal time to cut back Monaco’s nearly 1,000 citrus trees. But before they prune, they pick the fruit and offer it up to the public.  

Starting 16th January, the 566 bitter orange trees, known locally as bigarades, that grow along the various streets of the Condamine, Moneghetti and Monte Carlo neigbourhoods will be harvested and all anyone needs to do in order to take home some of these lovely fruits is to ask a gardener on site.  

In 2022, 1.3 tonnes of a 7.6-tonne yield were given away for free, including a nice delivery made to the Lycée Technique et Hôtelier de Monaco, whose students turned the raw fruit into delicious jams and fruit roll ups. Other ways to use bitter oranges are as a juice, tea, marmalade or marinade.  

The picking schedule runs from 8am to noon, then 2pm to 3.30pm. In the Condamine, they will start on Rue Princesse Caroline from 16th to 26th January, before moving onto Rue Grimaldi from 30th January to 10th February. From 16th to 27th January, the harvest will also be on in Moneghetti on the Boulevard de Belgique. Monte Carlo’s times will run from 16th to 20th January on Avenue de Grande Bretagne, and from 23rd to 27th January on Boulevard de Suisse and Boulevard d’Italie.  

Harvesting is subject to weather and the progress being made by the DAU. For more information, call +377 98 98 22 77. 

 

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Photo source: Jason Richard for Unsplash