Profile
Official name Principauté de Monaco (Principality of Monaco)
Form of government constitutional monarchy with one legislative body
(National Council [24])
Chief of state Prince
Head of government1 Minister of State assisted by the Council of
Government
Capital 2
Official language French
Official religion Roman Catholicism
Monetary unit euro (ˆ)3
Population estimate (2008) 34,300
Total area (sq mi) 0.78
Total area (sq km) 2.02
1Under the authority of the prince.
2The principality is a single administrative unit, and no separate
area within it is distinguished as capital.
3Monaco uses the euro as its official currency, even though it is not
a member of the EU.
Main
officially Principality of Monaco, French Principauté de Monaco
sovereign principality located along the Mediterranean Sea in the
midst of the resort area of the Côte d’Azur (French Riviera). The city
of Nice lies 9 miles (15 km) to the west, the Italian border 5 miles (8
km) to the east. Monaco’s tiny territory occupies a set of densely
clustered hills and a headland that looks southward over the
Mediterranean. Many unusual features, however, have made Monaco among
the most luxurious tourist resorts in the world and have given it a fame
far exceeding its size.
Many visitors to Monaco alternate their hours between its beaches and
boating facilities, its international sports-car races, and its
world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling centre in the Monte-Carlo
section that made Monte-Carlo an international byword for the
extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth. The country has a
mild Mediterranean climate with annual temperatures averaging 61 °F (16
°C) and with only about 60 days of rainfall. Monthly average
temperatures range from 50 °F (10 °C) in January to 75 °F (24 °C) in
August.
Evidences of Stone Age settlements in Monaco are preserved in the
principality’s Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology. In ancient times the
headland was known to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and
Romans. In 1191 the Genoese took possession of it, and in 1297 the long
reign of the Grimaldi family began. The Grimaldis allied themselves with
France except for the period from 1524 to 1641, when they were under the
protection of Spain. In 1793 they were dispossessed by the French
Revolutionary regime, and Monaco was annexed to France. With the fall of
Napoleon I, however, the Grimaldis returned; the Congress of Vienna
(1815) put Monaco under the protection of Sardinia. The principality
lost the neighbouring towns of Menton and Roquebrune in 1848 and finally
ceded them to France under the terms of the Franco-Monegasque treaty of
1861. The treaty did restore Monaco’s independence, however, and in 1865
a customs union was established between the two countries. Another
treaty that was made with France, in 1918, contained a clause providing
that, in the event that the Grimaldi dynasty should become extinct,
Monaco would become an autonomous state under French protection. A
revision to the constitution in 2002 added females and their legitimate
children to the line of succession. In 1997 the Grimaldi family
commemorated 700 years of rule, and in 1999 Prince Rainier III marked 50
years on the throne. Shortly before his death in 2005, his son Albert
became regent. The principality joined the United Nations in 1993.
Though not a member of the European Union (EU), Monaco phased out the
French franc for the single European currency of the euro by 2002.
Monaco’s refusal to impose income taxes on its residents and on
international businesses that have established headquarters in the
principality led to a severe crisis with France in 1962. A compromise
was reached by which French citizens with less than five years residence
in Monaco were taxed at French rates and taxes were imposed on
Monegasque companies doing more than 25 percent of their business
outside the principality. In the early 21st century, some European
nations criticized Monaco’s loose banking regulations, claiming that the
principality sheltered tax evaders and money launderers.
Monaco’s constitution of 1911 provided for an elected National
Council, but in 1959 Prince Rainier III suspended part of the
constitution and dissolved the National Council because of a
disagreement over the budget. In 1961 he appointed instead a national
assembly. The aforementioned crisis of 1962 with France led him to
restore the National Council and to grant a new, liberal constitution.
The council comprises 18 members, elected by universal suffrage for a
term of five years. Government is carried on by a minister of state (who
must be a French citizen) and three state councillors acting under the
authority of the prince, who is the official chief of state. Legislative
power is shared by the prince and the National Council. Since 1819 the
judicial system has been based on that of France; since 1962 the highest
judicial authority has been the Supreme Tribunal.
A substantial portion of the government’s revenues comes from taxes
on commercial transactions; additional revenue is drawn from franchises
on radio, television, and the casino, from state-operated monopolies on
tobacco and postage stamps, from sales taxes, and from the taxes imposed
since 1962.
Monaco’s chief industry is tourism, and its facilities make it one of
Europe’s most luxurious resorts. Once a winter attraction, it now draws
summer visitors as well to its beaches and expanded mooring facilities.
Business conferences are especially important. The social life of
Monte-Carlo revolves around the Place du Casino. The casino was built in
1861, and in 1967 its operations were taken over by the principality.
Banking and finance and real estate are other important components of
the diverse services sector.
A majority of Monaco’s population is composed of French citizens
(nearly half); a smaller but significant number are Italian, Swiss, and
Belgian. Only about one-sixth of the population claims Monegasque
descent. Most of the people are Roman Catholics. The official language
is French.
The four sections, or quartiers, of Monaco are the town of Monaco, or
“the Rock,” a headland jutting into the sea on which the old town is
located; La Condamine, the business district on the west of the bay,
with its natural harbour; Monte-Carlo, including the gambling casino;
and the newer zone of Fontvieille, in which various light industries
have developed.
In Monaco are the Roman Catholic cathedral, the prince’s Genoese and
Renaissance palace, and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, built in
1910. The casino itself contains a theatre designed by the 19th-century
French architect Charles Garnier, which is the home of the Opéra de
Monte Carlo. During the 1920s many of the works of the famous Ballets
Russes of Serge Diaghilev were given their premieres there. There is
also a Monte-Carlo national orchestra. The best known of the automobile
events held in the principality are the Monte-Carlo Rally and the Grand
Prix de Monaco.
