Monaco , officially the
Principality of Monaco (;
Monégasque:
Principatu de Múnegu; ; ), is a small sovereign
city-state located in South
Western Europe on the northern central coast of the
Mediterranean Sea, having a land border on three sides only with France, and being about away from Italy. Its size is just under 2 km² with an estimated population of almost 33,000. Monaco is the
world's most densely populated sovereign country, and the world's smallest
French-speaking country. An average person takes less than an hour to walk the entire length of the country. Monaco is the name of the country as well as the name of its only and capital city. It is often regarded as a
tax haven, and many of its inhabitants are wealthy and from foreign countries, making up a majority of the population, at around 84%.
Monaco is a
constitutional monarchy and
principality, with
Prince Albert II as head of state. The
House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the
Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite being independent, Monaco's defence is the responsibility of France.
Administrative divisions
left|thumb|180px|[[Ward (country subdivision)|Wards of Monaco]]
thumb|left|180px|Directly ahead is [[La Condamine, to the right with the smaller harbour is
Fontvieille and to the left with the high-rise buildings is
Monte Carlo.]]
Monaco is the second
smallest country in the world; only
Vatican City is smaller. As such Monaco is also the world's smallest monarchy (and principality to be more exact). The state consists of only one
municipality (
commune). There is no geographical distinction between the State and City of Monaco, although responsibilities of the government (State-level) and of the
municipality (city-level) are different. According to the
constitution of 1911, the
principality was subdivided into three municipalities:
- Monaco (Monaco-Ville), the old city on a rocky promontory extending into the Mediterranean, known as the Rock of Monaco, or simply Le Rocher (the Rock), where the palace is located
- La Condamine, the northwest section including the port area, Port Nikolas Flores
The municipalities were merged into one in 1917, after accusations that the government was acting according to the motto "divide and conquer", and they had the status of
wards (
quartiers) thereafter.
- Fontvieille was added as fourth ward, a newly constructed area reclaimed from the sea (in the 1970s)
- Moneghetti became the fifth ward, created from a part of La Condamine
- Larvotto became the sixth ward, created from a part of Monte Carlo
Subsequently, three additional wards were created:
An additional ward was planned by new land reclamation, to be settled from 2014. Prince Albert II announced in his New Year Speech 2009 that such plans had been put on hold due to the current economic climate.
Wards
Currently the principality is subdivided into 10 wards (with their official numbers; Le Portier, the proposed ward, was anticipated as number 11):
Note: for statistical purposes, the wards of Monaco are further subdivided into 173 city blocks (îlots), which are comparable to the census blocks in the United States.
History
180px|thumb|left|The Principality of Monaco
Monaco's name comes from the nearby
Phocaean
Greek colony, in the 6th century, which referred to the Ligurians as
Monoikos, from the
Greek μόνοικος "single house", from μόνος "alone, single" + οίκος "house", which bears the sense of a people either settled in a "single habitation" or of "living apart" from others. Another related Greek word to the name of this principality is μόνaκος which means "alone" from which the word
monastery and
monasticism are derived. According to an ancient myth,
Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos. Because the only temple of this area was the "House" of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos.
thumb|180px|Statue of [[François Grimaldi, "
il Malizia" ("the Shrewd"), guised as a
monk with a
sword under his
frock before the
Prince's Palace of Monaco.]]
Following a land grant from Emperor
Henry VI in 1191, Monaco was re-founded in 1228 as a colony of
Genoa. Monaco has been ruled by the
House of Grimaldi since 1297, when
Francesco Grimaldi ("
Il Malizia", translated from Italian either as "The Malicious One" or "The Cunning One") and his men captured the fortress protecting the
Rock of Monaco while he was dressed as a
Franciscan monk — a
Monaco in
Italian, although this is a coincidence as the area was already known by this name.
In 1793,
French Revolutionary forces captured Monaco, and it remained under French control until 1814. The principality was re-established that year, only to be designated a protectorate of the
Kingdom of Sardinia by the
Congress of Vienna in 1815. Monaco remained in this position until 1860, when by the
Treaty of Turin, Sardinia ceded to France the surrounding county of
Nice (as well as
Savoy). During this time there was unrest in the towns of
Menton and
Roquebrune, which declared independence, hoping for annexation by Sardinia. The unrest continued until the ruling prince gave up his claim to the two towns (some 95% of the country), and they were ceded to France in return for four million francs. This transfer and Monaco's sovereignty was recognised by the
Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861.
Until the adoption of the 1911 constitution, the
princes of Monaco were
absolute rulers. In July 1918, a treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, part of the
Treaty of Versailles, established that Monegasque international policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests.
In 1943, the Italian army invaded and occupied Monaco, setting up a
Fascist administration. Shortly thereafter, following Mussolini's collapse in Italy, the
Nazi German
Wehrmacht occupied Monaco and began the deportation of the Jewish population. The prominent French Jew
René Blum (Paris, 13 March 1878 –
Auschwitz, 30 April 1943), who founded the Ballet de l'Opera in Monte Carlo, was arrested in his Paris home and held in the
Drancy deportation camp outside
Paris,
France from whence he was then shipped to the
Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed.
thumb|left|180px|Rainier III, Prince of Monaco from 1949 to 2005.
Rainier III who ruled until 2005, acceded to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince
Louis II, in 1949. On April 19, 1956, Prince Rainier married the American actress
Grace Kelly; the event was widely televised and covered in the popular press, focusing the world's attention onto the tiny Principality.
A new constitution, proclaimed in 1962, abolished
capital punishment, provided for
women's suffrage, and established a
Supreme Court of Monaco to guarantee fundamental liberties. In 1993, the Principality of Monaco became a member of the
United Nations, with full voting rights. In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco specified that, should there be no heirs to carry on the Grimaldi dynasty, the principality would still remain an independent nation rather than revert to France. Monaco's military defence, however, is still the responsibility of France.
On 31 March 2005, Prince Rainier III, too ill to exercise his duties, relinquished them to his only son and heir, Prince Albert Alexandre Louis. Prince Rainier died on 6 April 2005, after a reign of 56 years, and his son succeeded him as
Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.
Following a period of official mourning, Prince Albert II formally assumed the princely crown on 12 July 2005, in a celebration that began with a solemn
Mass at
Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where his father had been buried three months earlier. His accession to the Monegasque throne was a two-step event, with a further ceremony, drawing heads of state for an elaborate
levée, held on 19 November 2005 at the historic
Prince's Palace in
Monaco-Ville. Albert II is the son of the late Princess Grace, known prior to her marriage to Prince Rainer III in 1956 as
Grace Kelly.
Law and government
Monaco has been governed as a constitutional monarchy since 1911, with the
Sovereign Prince of Monaco as
head of state. The
executive branch consists of a
Minister of State (the
head of government), who presides over a four-member
Council of Government. Until 2002, the Minister of State was a French citizen appointed by the prince from among candidates proposed by the French government; since the constitution amendment in 2002, the Minister of State can be French or Monegasque. Under the 1962 constitution, the prince shares his power with the
unicameral National Council (parliament). The twenty-four members of this
legislative body are elected from lists by
universal suffrage for five-year terms. The principality's local affairs are directed by the Communal Council, which consists of fifteen elected members and is presided over by the mayor.
Economy
thumb|right|180px|[[Fontvieille, Monaco|Fontvieille and its new harbour]]
One of Monaco's main sources of income is
tourism; each year many are attracted to its casino and pleasant climate. (Monaco's own citizens are not allowed to gamble in the casino.) In 2001, a major new construction project extended the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbour. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries, such as cosmetics and biothermics.
The state retains
monopolies in numerous sectors, including
tobacco and the postal service. The
telephone network (Monaco Telecom) used to be fully owned by the state; it now owns only 45%, while the remaining 55% is owned by both
Cable & Wireless (49%) and Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (6%). It is still, however, a monopoly. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas.
Monaco is not a member of the
European Union. However, it is very closely linked via a customs union with France, and as such, its
currency is the same as that of France, the
euro. Before 2002, Monaco minted its own coins, the
Monegasque franc. Monaco has acquired the right to mint
euro coins with
Monegasque designs on its national side.
Tax haven
Monaco levies no
income tax on
individuals. The absence of a personal income tax in the principality has attracted to it a considerable number of wealthy "tax refugee" residents from European countries who derive the majority of their income from activity outside Monaco;
celebrities such as
Formula One drivers attract most of the attention, but the vast majority of them are less well-known business people.
thumb|left|Monte Carlo CasinoIn 2000, a report by the
French parliamentarians,
Arnaud Montebourg and
Vincent Peillon, alleged that Monaco had lax policies with respect to money laundering, including within its famed casino, and that the government of Monaco had been placing political pressure on the judiciary, so that alleged crimes were not being properly investigated.
In 1998, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a first report on the consequences of the
tax havens' financial systems. Monaco did not appear in the list of these territories until 2004, when OECD became indignant regarding the Monegasque situation and denounced it in its last report, as well as
Andorra,
Liechtenstein,
Liberia and the
Marshall Islands, underlining its lack of co-operation as regards to financial information disclosure and availability.
In 2000, the
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) stated: "The anti-money laundering system in Monaco is comprehensive. However, difficulties have been encountered with Monaco by countries in international investigations on serious crimes that appear to be linked also with tax matters. In addition, the FIU of Monaco (SICCFIN) suffers a great lack of adequate resources. The authorities of Monaco have stated that they will provide additional resources to SICCFIN." The Principality is no longer blamed in the 2005 FATF report, as well as all other territories. However, since 2003, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified Monaco, along with 36 other territories, as a
tax haven.
The
Council of Europe also decided to issue reports naming tax havens. Twenty-two territories, including Monaco, were thus evaluated between 1998 and 2000 on a first round. Monaco is the only territory that refuses to perform the second round, initially forecast between 2001 and 2003, whereas the 21 other territories are implementing the third and last round, planned between 2005 and 2007.
Numismatics
thumb|130px|[[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Monaco)#2002 coinage|2002 Monegasque €20 commemorative coin]]
In Monaco, the euro was introduced in 2002. In preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 2001. This is why the first euro coins from Monaco has the year 2001 on it, instead of 2002, like other countries of the
Eurozone. Three different designs were selected for the Monegasque coins. In 2006, the design was changed after the death of ruling Prince Rainier to have the effigy of Prince Albert.
Monaco also has a rich and valuable collection of collectors' coins, with face value ranging from 5 to 100 euro. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the Eurozone. For instance, a €5 Monegasque commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country. The same practice concerning commemorative coins is exercised with all eurozone countries. Commemorative coins are legal tender only in their country of issue, unlike normal circulation coins, which are accepted in all euro-zone countries.
Geography of Monaco
Monaco is completely bordered by
France to the north, west, and south; to the east is the
Mediterranean Sea.
Climate
Sport and entertainment
Formula One
thumb|180px|right|Formation lap for the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.
Since 1929, the
Monaco Grand Prix has been held annually in the streets of Monaco. It is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. The erecting of the
Circuit de Monaco takes six weeks to complete, and the removal after the race another three weeks. The circuit has many elevation changes and tight corners, along with a tunnel. This together with being incredibly narrow and tight makes it perhaps the most demanding
Formula One track. Only two drivers have ever crashed into the harbour, the most famous being
Alberto Ascari in the
1955 Monaco Grand Prix. (Ascari lost his life four days later at
Monza). The other was
Paul Hawkins, during the
1965 Monaco Grand Prix.
Monte Carlo Rally
The
Monte Carlo Rally has been held since 1911, having originally been held at the behest of Prince
Albert I and is, like the principality's Grand Prix, organised by the
Automobile Club de Monaco. It has long been considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious events in
rallying and from 1973 to 2008 was the opening round of the
World Rally Championship.
Football
AS Monaco FC plays at
Stade Louis II and has been one of the more successful French sides of recent times. Because of the popular appeal of living in Monaco and the lack of income tax, many international stars have played for the club, such as
Jürgen Klinsmann,
Oliver Bierhoff,
George Weah,
John Collins,
Fernando Morientes,
Thierry Henry,
Fabien Barthez,
Rafael Márquez,
Javier Saviola,
David Trezeguet,
Patrice Evra, Valur Guðnason,
Shabani Nonda,
Emmanuel Adebayor,
Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen,
Jan Koller and
Park Chu-Young. The club reached the
UEFA Champions League Final in
2004, led by the likes of Morientes, Evra,
Akis Zikos, and
Ludovic Giuly, losing 3-0 to Portuguese team,
F.C. Porto. The Stade Louis II also plays host to the annual
UEFA Super Cup, which is played between the winners of the
UEFA Champions League and the
UEFA Europa League.
Rugby
Monaco's national rugby team, as of June 2009, is 88th in the
International Rugby Board rankings.
Other sports
thumb|180px|right|View of the Port of Hercules, La Condamine, Monaco
The
Monte Carlo Masters is currently held annually in neighbouring
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin,
France, as a professional tournament for men as part of
tennis'
ATP Masters Series. The tournament has been held since 1897.
Golf's
Monte Carlo Open was also held at the Monte Carlo Golf Club at Mont Agel in France between 1984 and 1992. Monaco has also
competed in the
Olympic Games, although, as of 2008, no athlete from Monaco has ever won an Olympic medal.
In 2009, the
Tour de France, the world's premier bicycle race, started from Monaco with a 15 km closed-circuit individual time trial starting and finishing there on the first day (4 July) and the 182 km second leg starting there on the following day and ending in
Brignoles, France.
Monaco also stage part of the
Global Champions Tour (International Show-jumping). Acknowledged as the most glamorous of the series, Monaco will be hosting the world's most celebrated riders, including Monaco's own
Charlotte Casiraghi, in a setting facing out over the world's most beautiful yachts, and framed by the Port Hercule and Prince's palace. In 2009, the Monaco stage of the Global Champions tour takes place between 25 June - 27 June.
The
Monaco Marathon is the only marathon in the world to trascend three separate countries, those of Monaco, France and Italy. The 2010 event takes place on March 21. Runners complete the race by returning to the
Stade Louis II.
The Monaco Ironman 70.3 triathlon race is an annual event with over 1000 athletes competing and attracts top professional athletes from around the world. The race includes a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride and 21.1 km run. Official event webpage: http://www.monaco-ironman.com/indeximmc.htm
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Monaco has ten state-operated schools, including: seven nursery and primary schools; one secondary school,
Collège Charles III; one
lycée that provides general and technological training,
Lycée Albert 1er; and one lycée that provides vocational and hotel training,
Lycée technique et hôtelier de Monte-Carlo. There are also two grant-aided denominational private schools, including
Institution François d'Assise Nicolas Barré and
Ecole des Sœurs Dominicaines, and one international school, the International School of Monaco.
Colleges and universities
There is one university located in Monaco:
Demographics
Monaco's population is unusual in that the native
Monegasques are a minority in their own country. The largest proportion of residents are French nationals (47%), followed by Monegasque (16%), and Italians (16%). The remaining 21% belong to one of the other 125 nationalities that make up Monaco's international population. A Monacoian is the term used to describe a person living in Monaco who is not a resident or citizen of Monaco.
Religion
Christian
Roman Catholic
thumb|180px|Saint Nicholas Cathedral, MonacoThe official
religion is
Roman Catholicism, with freedom of other religions guaranteed by the constitution. There are five Roman Catholic parish churches in Monaco and one
cathedral, which is the seat of the
archbishop of Monaco. The diocese, which has existed since the mid-nineteenth century, was raised to an archbishopric in 1981 as the
Archdiocese of Monaco.
Anglican
There is one
Anglican church (
St. Paul's Church), located in the Avenue de Grande Bretagne in Monte Carlo. In 2007 this had a formal membership of 135 Anglicans resident in the principality, but was also serving a considerably larger number of Anglicans temporarily in the country, mostly as tourists. The church site also accommodates an English-language library of over 3,000 books. The church is part of the Anglican
Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe.
Jewish
The Association Culturelle Israelite de Monaco (founded 1948) is a converted house containing a
synagogue, a community Hebrew school, and a
kosher food shop, located in Monte Carlo. The community (approximately 1,500 strong) mainly consists of retired Jews from Britain (40%) and North Africa. One third of the Jewish population there is
Ashkenazi, while the other two thirds are
Sephardic.
Security
thumb|right|180px|Sunset in Monte CarloThe wider defence of the nation is provided by
France. Monaco has no navy or air force, but on both a per-capita and per-area basis, Monaco has the largest police force (515 police officers for 32,000 people) and police presence in the world. Its police includes a specialist unit which operates patrol and surveillance boats. There is also a small military consisting of a (mainly ceremonial) bodyguard unit for the Prince and his palace called the
Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince which numbers 112 officers and men and is equipped with modern weapons such as M-16 rifles and 9 mm pistols, and a militarized (and armed) fire and civil defence Corps.
The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (Prince's Company of Carabiniers) is the main ceremonial unit of the
military force of Monaco. It was created by Prince
Honoré IV in 1817 for the protection of the Principality and the Princely family. The company numbers exactly 112 officers and men; while the
NCOs and soldiers are local, the officers have generally served in the
French Army. Together with the local fire service, the Carabiniers form Monaco's total public forces. In addition to their guard duties, the company patrols the Principality's beaches and coastal waters, as well as duties around the Palace in
Monaco-Ville.
Flag
It is one of the world's oldest national flag designs. The flag of Monaco is identical to
that of Indonesia (except for the ratio of height to width).
Transport
Monaco is served by several train systems and the
Monaco - Fontvieille Heliport. The closest airport is
Cote d'Azur Airport in
Nice,
France. Some airlines marketed Monaco via Nice Airport.
["" in 1993, Trans World Airlines] See also
