Pourquoi je fais mes courses dans le supermarché le plus cher de France

Au petit matin du 17 avril 2020, je promenais mon chien lorsque j’ai aperçu deux chiens sauvages errer au milieu de la route. Nos yeux se croisèrent juste assez longtemps pour que je sache ce qui allait se passer. J’ai pris mon chien dans mes bras et je me suis mis en position de renfort.

Un cri aigu m’a ramené dans mon corps, et quand j’ai ouvert les yeux, j’ai réalisé que c’était moi qui réagissais aux séries de dents perçant ma peau. «Ils vont te tuer», m’a alerté la voix dans ma tête. D’une manière ou d’une autre, j’ai commencé à courir, mon chien serré dans les bras. J’ai traversé la rue en courant, les deux bêtes me poursuivant sans relâche tandis que le sang coulait sur mes jambes.

C’était à mi-chemin du premier confinement covid, donc il y avait peu de véhicules qui passaient à 5h30 du matin. L’un d’eux est passé à côté de moi sciemment, mais la voiture à 5 portes derrière s’est arrêtée. J’ai sauté sur la banquette arrière. Les chiens ont bondi dans la voiture tandis que le conducteur tentait de les effrayer en klaxonnant. Finalement, les deux chiens (comme je l’ai appris plus tard) de garde dressés malinois évadés ont continué vers Monaco et le jeune couple dans la voiture m’a déposé à la maison où j’ai appelé la police (le conducteur les avait déjà contactés) qui m’a mis en contact avec une ambulance.

Ce n’est qu’après être rentré chez moi après avoir subi des points de suture et déposé plainte (les chiens ont ensuite attaqué trois autres victimes à Monaco) que j’ai réalisé que je n’avais aucun moyen de remercier les inconnus qui, littéralement, ont sauvés moi et mon chien de la mutilation à mort.

Quelques jours plus tard, un ami du quartier m’a appelé pour lui dire que le couple dans la voiture travaillait dans notre épicerie locale, le Casino Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Lorsque je les ai retrouvés pour leur exprimer ma gratitude, le chauffeur m’a raconté une histoire remarquable. Le matin même de l’attaque, sa voiture à deux portes ne démarrait pas, alors il a emprunté la berline de sa petite amie pour se rendre au travail à l’heure. Il a dit que c’était le destin car avec son collègue comme passager, il n’y aurait pas eu de place pour moi dans sa voiture.

Depuis ce moment, je suis un client fidèle du Casino Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Et je m’en voudrais donc de ne pas répondre au titre de cette semaine qui le qualifie de « supermarché le plus cher de France ».

Oui, c’est cher. Ce n’est un secret pour personne. Le personnel en parle, les locaux en parlent. C’est comme dire que les gens vivent à Monaco pour éviter de payer de l’impôt.

Pourtant le magasin limitrophe de Monaco a ses avantages. Il ouvre en semaine à 7h30, vous pouvez donc faire vos achats avant d’aller travailler. Pour les personnes sensibles au budget comme moi, il existe l’application CasinoMax qui vous offre une remise de 10 % sur chaque article. Et contrairement au très grand Carrefour Monaco rempli de clients, ce Casino a une surface au sol gérable avec moins de monde qui accapare les allées.

C’est un magasin de proximité pour la communauté de Saint Roman de tous âges qui fait ses courses sans voiture et préfère transporter ses caddies et sacs recyclés avec ses provisions du jour plutôt que de faire ses achats en ligne.

Le couple qui tient les lieux se met en quatre pour me dire bonjour ; lorsque mon Canada natal fait la une des journaux, ils posent des questions sur ma famille. Je ne défends en aucun cas les propriétaires ou leur stratégie de prix de détail. Le sondage (voir vidéo ci-dessous) n’a pas révélé le détail de leurs dépenses de fonctionnement. Peut-être qu’ils pourraient baisser les prix, je ne sais pas.

Ce que je sais, c’est qu’ils ont un personnel exceptionnel. Chaque fois que j’entre dans le supermarché, j’ai un sentiment de famille. Je suis accueilli par un bonjour amical et quelques bavardages. Ces travailleurs sont pour la plupart des trentenaires qui tentent de vivre leur vie comme tout le monde. Certains sont des parents seuls; d’autres ont subi une perte tragique. Certains sont fanatiques de Noël et de la pâtisserie; d’autres ont perdu 20 kg et sont désormais passionnés de sport. Ils sont tous accommodants dans leur rôle et je ne suis pas toujours le client le plus patient.

Ces liens humains comptent pour moi plus que le résultat net. Et je pense que nous oublions que derrière chaque gros titre, des vies sont touchées. Je continuerai à soutenir le supermarché le plus cher de France parce que quelqu’un qui travaille là a fait ce qu’il fallait pour m’aider. Et faire ce qu’il faut n’a pas de prix.

Article publié pour la première fois le 7 septembre 2023.

Article publié pour la première fois le 7 septembre 2023. Read article in English:

SWIMRUN Monaco

Matteo Testa.

Last Tuesday in the port of Nice, Fred Ghintran and his son were having an after-school snack near the plage de la Païole, between the war memorial and the dyke. Fred, an Ironman with swimming pool rescue training, was shocked when he spotted a man jump in the water. The sea swell was around a meter and rising, smashing into the rocks of Rauba Capeu. The 30-year-old swimmer was tossed around and soon lost consciousness, floating about ten meters from the rocks.

Fred, 43, knew the man was going to die if nothing was done. He called the firefighters and dove into the water, pulling the man away from the seawall about 40 meters. It was a close call. As he told Nice-Matin, he had calculated he could hang on for about five minutes before a rescue team arrived. Sure enough, the Commandant-Croizé soon arrived with four pompiers on board and the two swimmers were pulled out of the 14°C water. The firefighters managed to resuscitate the victim, who remained in critical condition at Pasteur 2 hospital.

“I tried to save him. I did what I could. We are lucky to have great firefighters who do an admirable job every day. They too put themselves in danger,” Fred said humbly but he warned: “You should not approach the edge when there is a wind like that, at the risk of being swept away by a wave.”

Fred and the firefighters had to risk their lives because of one man’s lack of judgement. It is not about getting in the water, but being able to get out. (By the way, Fred owns Le Felix restaurant in Nice. Go there – have a coffee, order a meal, anything to support this hero.)

Before you chime in, “That’s why I don’t swim in the sea”, remember that the conditions over the past week have been exceptionally dangerous, a combination of large swells and strong winds. One way to stay safe in the water is swimming with a group.

This is where Matteo Testa comes in. He launched SWIMRUN Monaco in December last year. “I was solicited by the newly founded Federation de Triathlon Monegasque, and with a small group of passionate people residing in Monaco, we decided to create the sport association.”

Matteo says the aim is to grow the local community, attract passionate and professional athletes from abroad and offer new sport experiences to people. “Through our SWIMRUN Monaco network, we approach swimrun paying attention to both water safety and developing the sport for the younger generation, as well as having a sustainable philosophy for all our activities.”

Monaco Info report March 22, 2023 on SWIMRUN Monaco for Waouh le Sud for France 3 TV

Matteo hails from Finale Ligure, in Liguria, about 100 km east of Monaco. “Finale Ligure is known as the ‘Mecca’ of outdoor activities – mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, trail running, surfing – with an incredible and unique playground. On my free time I was a mountain bike and outdoor guide there, but then I decided to move to Monaco and focus on family and my primary job.”

Sports have always played a role in Matteo’s life. At the age of 8, he was competing in swimming and alpine skiing. He started motocross at 13 and did his first triathlon at 19. “I have continued consistently with running, swimming, triathlon, mountain bike competitions, windsurfing, kitesurfing and exploring new places and new disciplines.”

Then he discovered swimrun, where you alternate between running and open water swimming over multiple stages outdoors without changing your clothes (so yes, you swim in your running shoes and run in a wetsuit). The sport ÖTILLÖ swimrun was founded in the Stockholm Archipelago in 2006 by Michael Lemmel and Mats Skott, who both stepped down from the organization in February 2023.

“I actually did my first swimrun race in Italy, near where I was born, and it was a solo competition and we were 40 participants at the start. Despite losing one of my paddles at the first swim and taking the wrong route three quarters into the race, I still won. I could not believe it. Since that race I continued training in swimming, running and swimrunning, which I do between three to four times a week.”

Team Envol Cote d’Azur swimrun training camp Roquebrune-Cap-Martin 2021.

Matteo was so passionate about the sport he organised two editions of EPICBLUE Swimrun Finale Ligure in 2019 and 2020 and designed a series for Turkey and Indonesia, which unfortunately did not happen due to Covid. In April 2021, he ran a successful 3-day swimrun camp in Roquebrune-Cap Martin. “We offered a training program dedicated to swimming and running, with a swimrun outing each day on the most beautiful courses of our region – Cap Martin, Cap Ferrat and the Italian boarder. Nicolas Rimeres provided professional coaching and after-session analysis and there was yoga-relaxation around the resort pool.” The camp (photo above) was a hit. 25 participants from France, Switzerland and Sweden came together with a medium-to-good level in both swim and run disciplines. Expect more local camps and in Sardinia (dates to be determined). “Beginners are always also welcome in our future camps.”

And he means it. Matteo may be a high-performance endurance athlete, but he embraces sportsmanship, waiting for and encouraging others or slowing his pace to not leave anyone behind. Everyone knows him. “It is true, I know nearly everyone in the world of swimrun and especially in the endurance sport network, local and international. And this what it drives my enthusiasm. I love to connect to people and to share experiences with them.

“We recently heard news about changes to ÖTILLO management and there are new expectations within the community about how this brand will evolve and what changes this will bring to the discipline. I see swimrun growing in our area and strongly believe there will be a huge development in 2024/2025. Covid slowed down the forecasted exponential growth of this sport, but swimrun continues to make progress in France and the rest of the world, even if it still struggles to get established in Italy … but that will come.” (By the way, France is the first and only country to have an official Swimrun national team.)

Matteo, who is founder and manager of H20 Maritime, an independent consultancy firm in yachting, is focusing his energies and resources into a new platform dedicated to sport exploration and travel experiential, which will hopefully launch a new swimrun race and concept in Monaco. “Along with my team, we have conceptualised an eco-conscious MÖNACÖ SWIMRUN event that will explore zero-waste solutions. The Prince Albert II Foundation enthusiastically approved our idea and accepted to integrate our event into Monaco Ocean Week, the country’s leading event in spreading clean ocean awareness.” The project is currently pending approval from the government for 2024.

The MÖNACÖ SWIMRUN (Ö means Island in Swedish) event during Ocean Week is not to be confused with SWIMRUN Monaco, the new association that acts as a sports club building membership, organising regular training and swimrun outings in Monaco and neighbouring France and Italy. “We aim to bring the sport to a different level here in Monaco, where our community is predominately made up of CEOs, doctors and other professional individuals with a passion for adventure multisport in this area,” says Matteo.

Swimrun training camp Sardinia.

They are off to a strong start with 15 founding members. “Our regular outings are set to begin this spring starting with a special experience in partnership with Waouh le Sud for France 3 TV Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. This media coverage opportunity takes place between March 20th-23rd, for anyone who would like to sponsor this initiative.”

SWIMRUN Monaco’s official website will go live later this year but you can follow them on Facebook and Instagram. “For fun” outings will start beginning of April. “Anyone can join. Beginners, those curious and new explorers are more than welcome,” says Matteo, who turns 49 this Sunday March 19th.

He adds, “I train everywhere I go, whether I travel for work or pleasure, to discover new coastlines and lakes. Undoubtedly my favourite playground is Monaco-Roquebrune-Cap Martin and Beaulieu-Cap Ferrat. I see swimrun growing in our area. We invite new people to join and experience the sport with us.”

The next SWIMRUN Monaco event is the convivial “OFF” Swimrun Finale Ligure on Sunday, March 26, with two distances Long (23.3k) and Short 13.3k. For more contact Matteo Testa: swimrun@monaco.mc or to become a member of SWIMRUN Monaco sign up here.

Article first published on March 14, 2023.