Fights at Christmas, DrunkDriving & Shady Car Plates: Full Docket for the Court

Repeat Drunken Driving Crossed a Red Line With the Court 

It’s a noble vocation to be a carer of the aged and carer of the less fortunate in life who are dependent. But this lady in her 40s needed first and foremost to take care of herself. Already in 2020 she had been convicted of serious drunkenness at the wheel and had had her license suspended. She was courting danger with the courts. With a suspended prison sentence hanging over her she caved in to her cravings for alcohol and took to the wheel again in Monaco. Two bottles of wine consumed, the lady started to negotiate the exit of a parking lot; she first clipped a car and then drove into a wall. The police who had been rapidly alerted were at the ready to interview her but she was so drunk, they even had to wait. Alcoholism and depression – true: but the Court had to act to protect the public, bearing in mind she was a serious repeat offender. The argument that she would be in danger of losing her job did not pass muster. This time she landed a 2 month prison sentence, had her license suspended and received a fine to-boot. As a warning against further transgressions the Court added a suspended fine of 500 euros. 

Monaco Car Plates at the Cost of a Jail Sentence 

High performance sports cars, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins – the ultimate status symbols. Add a Monaco plate and you are at the pinnacle of society – the envy of your social circle. Except Monaco plates are not so easy to acquire. So if you are not a resident of Monaco, you shouldn’t be driving your own racing machine, like James Bond, around the Principality with a Monegasque plate. And you are going to be found out by the police if you have a crash – which is exactly what happened to the Russian driver of the car. Monegasque plate but no driving license – something fishy here thought the police. Did the car really belong to his Monegasque resident friend as the driver was now claiming. Or was the other storyline – the car was a birthday present complete with Monaco plate the better of the explanations. Neither story held up under examination. More fishing by the police discovered the number-plate had 

been applied for with a fake invoice. Third story – maybe the car dealer was the real villain here. The Court was not “amused” by any of the explanations. Trafficking Monaco plates is an offense. The Monaco resident who was deemed instrumental in obtaining the license by “mysterious” means using a false invoice was given a three-month suspended jail sentence. And the Russian driver of the high performance sports car, a non-resident, was fined 5.000 euros. 

Dance on the Tables at Christmas – Don’t Fight over Them!

Marché de Noel encapsulates the true Spirit of Christmas which makes this case so ironic. 

It’s true that the Christmas Village in the Principality is so popular that seating space is hard to come by. But a war between two families over seating space in the most festive place in Monaco where Christmas spirit is meant to reign – how could it be? Apparently it started with two teenagers facing off and trading insults. And then the melee like a Rugby scrum when both families got heavily involved. By the time it finished each family had members checking into hospital with days off work to recover from bruises and even cuts from objects thrown. The Christmas market is so crowded that even if there were security cameras they would only see a sea of bodies and scuffles and general confusion. Everyone involved in the scuffle from both families was fined 500 euros. Enough blame to be shared by everyone. And awards of 1 euro for each civil claim of damages, deemed to have little merit. The moral of this case: Next Christmas – dance on the tables, don’t fight over them!