A bomb blast in the heart of Monaco has shattered the principality's gilded calm, killing two and wounding five near the Port Hercules. The attack, which targeted a luxury yacht owned by a Russian oligarch, has raised fears of a new front in the shadow war between rival billionaire factions. For the thousands of workers who clean the decks and polish the brass of these floating palaces, it is a stark reminder that the fallout from high-stakes wealth battles rarely spares the ordinary.
The explosion occurred at dawn on Tuesday, ripping through a berthed superyacht and causing a fuel fire that spread to adjacent vessels. Police have confirmed that a device was planted, but no group has claimed responsibility. The attack bears hallmarks of a targeted hit tied to disputes over assets, debts or political allegiances among the ultra-wealthy. This is not terrorism as Europe knows it, said one Monaco-based security analyst. It is a private war fought with public casualties.
For the stewards, mechanics and hospitality staff who form Monaco's invisible workforce, the blast means more than trauma. The port is closed indefinitely, leaving hundreds of day labourers without income. Many are migrants from southern Europe and North Africa, living in cramped conditions and dependent on the seasonal economy. Jean-Luc, a deckhand from Marseille, told us: The rich fight over money, and we lose our jobs. I have a family to feed.
The French government has condemned the attack, promising increased patrols along the Côte d'Azur. But local unions argue that more policing is not the answer. What about our wages, our rights? said Maria, a cleaner employed by a subcontractor. The oligarchs come and go. We live here. We need protection from this violence, not just the police kind.
Monaco, a tiny tax haven squeezed between France and the sea, has long been a bolthole for the global elite. But the war in Ukraine tightened sanctions and froze assets, turning old alliances into feuds. This bomb is the latest salvo in a conflict that has already seen yacht seizures, corporate raids and the occasional bullet. The difference now is that the battlefield has shifted from the boardroom to the port side.
The UK's Foreign Office has advised British nationals in Monaco to stay vigilant. But for the local economy, the damage may already be done. Hotel bookings are being cancelled, and the next Grand Prix weekend faces a security clampdown. Shopkeepers on the quayside told me they fear a winter of empty bills.
This is not the Monaco of postcards, said a fisherman who lost his gear in the fire. It is a place where money talks and workers pay the price. As the smoke clears, the question remains: how many more will be caught in the crossfire of oligarch warfare?
Sarah Jenkins, Economy & Labour Reporter
