Commission for Local Cross-Border Cooperation between France and Monaco - Joint press release

Commission for Local Cross-Border Cooperation between France and Monaco / © Government Communication Department/Michael Alési

The eighth meeting of the Commission for Local Cross-Border Cooperation between France and Monaco was held on 11 January 2019 at the Ministry of State of the Principality of Monaco.

Established in 2005, the commission meets annually, alternating between Nice and Monaco. Its role is to consider practical questions that affect the Principality of Monaco and the local authorities in the Alpes-Maritimes region as neighbours, particularly as regards social, health, transport, development and environmental issues, in the spirit of the “common destiny” shared by the two countries.

The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Mr Serge Telle, Minister of State of the Principality of Monaco, H.E. Ms Marine de Carné-Trécesson, France’s Ambassador to Monaco, and Mr Georges-François Leclerc, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes.

The Monegasque delegation* comprised members of the Prince’s Government, while the French delegation** included representatives from the French Embassy in Monaco and from the Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture, as well as elected officials.

The agenda included the issue of access to Monaco, a key concern, and the authorities together reviewed options for improvements. To this end, progress towards reopening the motorway exit slip road at Beausoleil was discussed as well as the headway made on improving junctions on the Moyenne Corniche road. The talks also covered alternative forms of transport, such as creating a link by sea, and improving coordination between national police forces on managing rush hour traffic.

In addition, the commission held constructive discussions about the La Cruella quarry development project, housing for workers and the introduction of teleworking for employees of Monegasque companies who are resident in France.

The commission welcomed the good progress made on technical safety improvements for the Rainier III tunnel and the delegations agreed to speed up efforts to secure governmental approval for the work in order to provide increased safety for travellers.

A number of topics associated with the activities being developed by Monegasque companies in France were also discussed, as well as the integration of Monaco’s Institute of Nurse Training with ParcourSup, the French national higher education admission platform, for 2019–2020.

The commission expressed its satisfaction with the successful implementation of the digital partnership signed by the Principality of Monaco and the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur in 2015, and discussed other plans for cross-border cooperation.

There was also a presentation on the progress of Monaco’s offshore urban extension project. Work on this project began in 2016 and is set to be fully completed in 2025.

Considerable progress was made in a number of areas, and those which cannot be resolved at the local level will be reviewed by the national Franco-Monegasque joint commission when it meets in Paris during 2019.

The two delegations agreed to hold the next meeting of the commission in Nice in 2020.

*: The Monegasque delegation comprised H.E. Mr Serge Telle, Minister of State, Ms Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister of Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development, Mr Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, Mr Didier Gamerdinger, Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Mr Robert Colle, Secretary-General of the Government, Mr Cyril Gomez, Director General of the Ministry of Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development, Mr Christophe Prat, Director General of the Ministry of the Interior, Ms Valérie Viora-Puyo, Director General of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, and Mr Jean-Marie Veran, Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

**: The French delegation comprised: H.E. Ms Marine de Carne-Trecesson, French Ambassador to Monaco, Mr Georges-François Leclerc, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Ms Laurence Boetti Forestier, Regional Councillor, representing the President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Council, Ms Agnès Rampal, Metropolitan Councillor, representing the President of the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, Mr Xavier Beck, Mayor of Cap d’Ail, Mr Jean-Claude Guibal, Mayor of Menton, Mr Jean-Jacques Raffaele, Mayor of La Turbie, Mr Gérard Spinelli, Mayor of Beausoleil, Mr Olivier Jonquet, Chief of Staff, representing the Mayor of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Mr Jean Lohest, First Counsellor at the Embassy, Ms Françoise Taheri, Secretary-General of the Prefecture, Ms Gwenaëlle Chapuis, Deputy Prefect of Nice-Montagne, Mr Philippe Lebrun, Director of State Coordination and Intervention, Ms Marie-Josée Piras, Deputy Director of State Coordination and Intervention, Mr Serge Castel, Departmental Director for Land Management and Maritime Affairs, Mr Hervé Demai, Departmental Director for Social Cohesion, Ms Sophie Beranger-Chervet, Departmental Director for Protecting Populations, Mr Yvan Denion, Departmental Representative for the Regional Health Agency, Mr François Delemotte, Director of the Departmental Section of the Regional Directorate for Business, Competition, Consumption, Work and Employment (DIRECCTE), and Ms Caroline Henry, Director of the Departmental Section of the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Development and Housing (DREAL).