SAVED BY FRANCE

Taranaki Daily News, 14 January 1933, Page 2

SAVED BY FRANCE

MONEY FOR MONTE CARLO. France has just put £lOO,OOO into the empty treasury of Monaco. The windfall has caused great jubilation in tills tiny principality, suffering from an ah- < sence of American and English gamblers and, in consequence, a general shortage of cash. Monte Carlo had lost much of its famed gaiety before the French Government decided to extend relief in the form of a retroactive 13,-000,000-franc (£104,000) payment under a 20-year-old Customs agreement. The Government has felt the pinch with the falling off of revenues from the taxation of casinos, hotels, shops, and other tourist attractions. Gambling receipts have declined heavily. Numbers of croupiers and casino employees have been dismissed. Croupiers depend on tips from winners at their tables, and those who remain atwork are none too prosperous. The Societie des Bains de Mer, which controls the great gambling hall and other large undertakings and which provides the ruler, Prince Louis, with a good portion of his income, is confronted with the additional task of filling an enormous new sporting club, which cost millions of francs. The lighting of Monte Carlo is another drain on the local business men. This city, which has such a glamorous reputation throughout the world, is dimly lighted with gas. If it were not for the electric signs of restaurants, hotels and shops Monte Carlo would be about as bright as a country village on a Thursday night. The French assistance to the tiny State, which is based on a yearly indemnity of £30,000 under a new arrangement for sharing taxes, is not a loan. It takes the form of increased payments waiving Customs on all French goods to Monaco in exchange for Monaco entering the principality. France’s generosity is variously explained. For one thing, she wishes to make some security for the little principality in these days of diminishing revenues, for it is to France’s advantage and prestige that this tourist centre, virtually within its borders, shall flourish. Furthermore, the system of annual payments from France to Monaco has existed since before the war. As the franc has been revalorised since and- its purchasing power lessened, France deems it only equitable to increase the yearly payments and give Monaco a lump sum to cover the years since the franc was Stabilised. Meanwhile, as Monte Carlo hopes for a return of the gamblers, Dr. Amletto Battisti, Uruguayan baccarat banker at nearby Nice, says he is seeking a spot in some other clime for. an “ideal casino.”