Lunchtime News Wednesday 16th February 2022

News

Health Minister to visit Nice tomorrow - France's Minister of Health Olivier Véran is to visit Nice tomorrow Thursday 17th February. During his visit the minister is to visit the L'Archet hospital and speech about the current health situation. Veran’s visit comes as this morning, he mentioned the possible end of wearing a mask indoors including in work, school or public transport in mid-March, should the health situation allow.

Nice Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the heart of three investigations - The Nice Chamber of Commerce and Industry is currently at the heart of three investigations following a report by the French Anti-Corruption Agency. According to reports, a report published in July by Mediapart showed "numerous malfunctions and the lack of respect for procedures and management" of the Nice Côte d'Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The public prosecutor of Nice Xavier Bonhomme, has indicated that three different investigations were opened on November 30th for possible facts of “illegal taking of interests”, “favouritism” and “embezzlement”. The justice system is in particular, questioning the granting of a public road contract for the port of Nice, managed by the CCI, to two companies belonging to Philippe Renaudi, at the time elected to the CCI. He is also president of the Union for Enterprise (UPE) 06, hence a suspicion of favoritism regarding the allocation of subsidies by the organization to this employers' organization. Another investigation targets the management of the CCI, chaired by Jean-Pierre Savarino, and the use of a bank card to pay for personal expenses, such as the payment of a speeding fine. The ICC "contests the unfounded allegations of Anticor and remains calm about the outcome of the criminal proceedings", specifying that it has "always expressed to the prosecutor its availability to provide all the elements relating to the investigation which is being carrying out".

Supermarket introduces “silent hour” for customers with autism - The Carrefour Lingostière hypermarket in Nice has announced on its Facebook page, that the store is to introduce a "silent hour" every day from 4pm to 5pm. The move aims to facilitate access to the supermarket for people with autism. During the dedicated hour lighting and noise will be reduced to accommodate customers with autism who prefer calmer surroundings.

New app to find lost items in Antibes - A new application called “Troov” can help find lost items in Antibes. The app which is associated with the city council will increase the chances of finding lost objects in the city. The service is free and available via an application or simply via the website troov.com.

Operation Carlo - The Prince's Government has expressed its delight with the success of "Operation Carlo". As part of the various measures to support the economy, the Prince's Government notably repeated the Carlo operation at the end of 2021. This involved paying an exceptional bonus, directly converted into purchase vouchers, on the Carlo application, to around 10,000 civil servants, State and Municipal employees, retired civil servants and non-medical staff at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre. This amount, varying from 350 to 650 euros per person, can only be spent exclusively in shops in the Principality before March 31st. For each transaction carried out, the customer receives a cash back of 5% of the amount that he can spend again in the network of shops affiliated with Carlo. The objective is both to support the purchasing power of employees while boosting local consumption in order to support the Monegasque economy. Out of a total amount of 6.5 million euros for the state bonus paid last December, to date, an amount of 4.3 million has already been spent in the 395 partner businesses of the Carlo application. This is direct support injected into the local economy as the month of January was marked by an epidemic rebound. The Prince's Government is also delighted with the new participation of 14 private economic players or organizations who have also decided to grant a bonus to their staff in the form of Carlo shopping vouchers. Since the launch of the operation on December 1st, the number of daily transactions has doubled compared to last year. The application has accumulated a record number of 96,000 transactions, which represents a total of 9 million euros injected directly into the local economy and generated 630,000 euros in cash back, which will in turn be spent with partnered businesses. These results confirm the success of the economic recovery strategy via local consumption. 

100th anniversary of the Rainier III Academy - To mark the 100th anniversary of the Rainier III Academy a commemorative stamp will be issued on March 25th to celebrate. The stamp will bear the image of the artistic establishment. Created in 1922 under the direction of the Monegasque composer and concert performer Louis Abbiat