National Council visits Paris

At the beginning of July, a delegation of the National Council (Monaco's parliament) was invited to the French Senate by Christophe-Andre Frassa, Senator for French citizens living abroad. It was the first meeting of the France-Monaco inter-parliamentary group.

The visit gave Monaco's parliamentarians an opportunity to present the National Council to the Senate and build some support before the next G20 summit. The group confirmed parliament's wish to be part of the international movement towards tax transparency, and expressed their concerns at how the Principality and other small states are presented in the media. It was also an opportunity to stress Monaco's economic contribution to the Alpes Maritimes, providing 30,000 jobs and valuable services such as the Princess Grace Hospital.

The situation of French citizens living in Monaco was also discussed. Frassa himself was born and lives in Monaco, but is not Monegasque, he's "un enfant du pays". Such French residents are mainly middle class and their families have lived in Monaco for many years, but aren't entitled to the same benefits as natural Monegasques. Although currently there are about 8000 French residents in the Principality, numbers are shrinking (see our story [1]). Some claim this is partly due to low household income, combined with the high cost of living in Monaco and the requirement to pay French taxes, leading to financial difficulties. Both parliamentary parties agreed on the need to maintain a strong and stable French presence in Monaco, perhaps through a low income housing scheme for the "enfants du pays". Monaco parliamentarians also suggested the need to review the situation where long-term French residents must pay French taxes.