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Monaco - Rock of the Grimaldis by Frédéric Laurent
2011-06-21 14:59
Once upon a time, there was a rock; and now, seven centuries later, that rock is still home to a prince and a royal palace.
With the exception of the Vatican City, Monaco is the smallest sovereign country in the world, and has survived for nearly 700 years under the reign of the same family, the Grimaldis.
Even so its current borders have existed for only 150 years, since a referendum in 1860 which re-attached the county of Nice to France and thus reduced the principality, which extended then to Menton, to a rock and a few acres of waterfront.
But at that time, although only a few thousand people lived there, the Riviera was enjoying a revolution in seaside leisure, games and entertainment; and Monaco soon expanded with the creation of its Mecca, the district of Monte Carlo.
The history of Monaco is marked by its relations with France, often in accord, sometimes in discord, but always informed by real life, as with the current debate on the status of tax havens.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Prince Rainier was responsible for the economic development of the area, while winning back Monaco's independence and sovereignty by wedding actress Grace Kelly in the 'wedding of the century'.
Their only son, the current Sovereign Prince Albert II, has been working since 2005 to make the principality a key player in the present argument regarding sustainable development.
Frédéric Laurent recounts the golden history of the Grimaldis while looking uncompromisingly at both sides of the coin - for here power and money have always been closely linked.
But one thing is certain: under the new sovereign prince's leadership, the principality of the 21st century is dropping its image as a tax haven and becoming a place which is both modern, balanced, and mindful of its environmental obligations.