Monaco luxury, crime and corruption

The entry into the narrative is classic. A short story will help the reader enter this new world. Here, a journalist comes to cover the Red Cross gala. More than an act of charity, the ceremony is the most glamorous time of the year. However, this woman actually wants to discover the secrets behind the murder of Helene Astor in Nice, the biggest fortune of the Rock. Indeed, this comic strip comes from the articles of Hélène Constanty (Razzia on Corsica), this Mediapart investigator was shocked by the ugliness of the buildings and the ghetto of rich that is the principality. She wanted to understand why the ultra-rich want to live there. The figure at first is shocking: one in three inhabitants is a millionaire. Monaco has become the city where real estate is the most expensive in the world. The book ends with the project to extend the principality towards the sea because there is almost no more building land. Monaco is also a world rarity because there is no tax apart from the T.V.Has… except for French citizens. We also discover that General de Gaulle had imposed a blockade in 1962 to obtain this situation. However, the journalist sometimes asks questions that are too naïve. The authors of the comic book do not trust the reader enough, so the book does not go far enough on some aspects.

Monaco Luxury, Crime and Corruption is drawn and colorized and staged – as he himself writes – by Thierry Chavant (Sarkozy-Gaddafi). To represent the billionaires, we feel that the cartoonist uses the press. His fine felt stroke does not use any straight line but leaves the mark struck by the hand. This choice corresponds to this desire to reveal the truth behind the facades too bright. Conversely, the decorations although refined are precise because they are part of the subject. Chavant uses little color to avoid distracting the viewer as the filmmaker Jacques Tati wrote.

Not only does the principality concentrate wealth, but it limits freedom. The reader understands from the gala that the press is controlled. Journalists have to come in formal dress but they stay parked on a line just to take pictures… and still the good profile of the guests but also preserve the image of the principality. This situation is also shown by the tension between the author and a paparazzi who is a fan of the country while she continues to see financial trafficking. It is not a democracy. Not only, with 53,000 police officers… not to mention video surveillance, Monaco is the most monitored state in the world. Moreover, obtaining Monegasque citizenship is a privilege of the Prince and the reasons seem totally incomprehensible. He is even the holder of judicial power.

In a passage on the origins of the principality, the authors demonstrate that violence is old and relations with France sometimes stormy. Born in violence between Italian factions, the Rock is recognized in the fifteenth century by the king of France. Lost during the revolution by the Grimaldi, independence was restored by the Restoration.

Very quickly in the introduction, the journalist takes precautions because the two cases that launched her investigation are not finally judged. The Pastor affair begins with the sordid murder of the heiress of a real estate empire and a family affair sponsored by the son-in-law. Then, several pages revive the reader the origin of the Pastors' fortune linked to the success of the Monegasque model. To make this micro-state a holiday resort of the richest, it was necessary to build what two generations of Pastor have allowed. This story also includes ridiculous elements. A sports coach under the influence of his boss recruits very amateur killers who will be quickly found. This close but also extended family is divided or even undermined by jealousies. No one talks to each other and supports each other.

The second scandal follows underground financial flows. The Russian oligarch Rybolovlev comes to settle in Monaco to shelter himself from the waltz of Putin's favorites. He buys the most expensive apartment in the city and AS Monaco. He quickly established himself as close to the Prince but he was just as quickly charged with influence peddling and corruption, which plunged former ministers and senior police officers. He took advantage of Monaco's status as a free port to buy master paintings without paying tax but the paintings were overcharged by the art dealer. The Russian will want revenge by using all his Monegasque networks. Very badly took it from him… But will the Principality, so calm, accept that these scandals are exposed?