Prince Albert yesterday visited some of the 116 state-owned apartments in the second release of the Apolline Gardens development above Condamine. Built on the site of the old station, the new quarter has 237 apartments and 752 parking spaces plus a further 360 for scooters and motorcycles, together with 1,400 m2 of shops, a pedestrian link and an underground tunnel between the plaza and shopping mall at Fontvieille. The total budget was € 173 million, including the demolition of the old buildings of La Colle, the construction of the entire development and the surrounding area...

Paul Masseron, Government Counsellor for the Interior, and Richard Marangoni, Director of la Sûreté Publique, today welcomed Prince Albert, Minister of State Michel Roger, and members of the Government for the traditional annual announcement of last year's crime figures. Mr Marangoni said that the priorities of Monaco's police force are based on prevention, the protection of youth, international cooperation in judicial matters, and the training of police officers. He said that prevention can be best achieved by the high visibility of police officers on the streets of Monaco...

PHOTO: Richard Marangoni, HSH Prince Albert, Regis Asso (who takes over as head of the Sûreté Publique on February 1), Michel Roger and Paul Masseron  Martina Brodie

The progress and implementation of the work of the Strategic Council for Attractiveness were topics addressed by Minister of State Michel Roger at the Government’s monthly press conference yesterday. He said that 2012 will be the year of “Welcome to Monaco,” and no efforts will be spared to facilitate the relocation of private and professional people to the Principality...

PHOTO: Artist's impression of the Yacht Club

Minister of State Michel Roger last night held out the hope that the Société des bains de mer, which runs the Casino and most of Monaco’s hotels, could rebound from its current difficulties without the need for job losses. Speaking to the National Council, Mr Roger called for more dialogue with the company’s workforce, a process that should be adopted alongside the search for new customers. So far, SBM has focussed on not replacing employees who retire and by using internal recruitment rather than hiring new workers…

PHOTO: The Casino at Monte-Carlo

The search for excellence for the Principality is the main objective of the Strategic Council for Attraction, whose findings and suggestions were presented yesterday at a press conference in the presence of Michel Roger, Minister of State, Mr Marco Piccinini, Counsellor for Finance, and other influential Monaco personalities. The elected members of the Strategic Council include Monegasque and foreign residents alike…

PHOTO: Minister of State Michel Roger and Counsellor for Finance Marco Piccinini with the Chairmen of the sub-committees. From left to right: E. Falco, P. Medicine, B. D’Alessandri, A. Torriani, (M. Roger, M. Piccinini) M. Dotta, R. Calcagno, M. Keusseoglou. Celina Lafuente de Lavotha

Minister of State Michel Roger announced at the Government’s monthly press conference yesterday that private capital will be sought to finance major projects. This represents a major new development in public finance for the Principality...

(PHOTO: The new National Council building under construction)