Want to shoot in Casino Square? For that, one needs to apply to a different office altogether, the omnipotent Société des Bains de Mer. Photography in the square in front of the Royal Palace, for example, needs an extra special level of authorisation (the Department of the Interior’s press office sends your request to the Royal Palace’s press office to mull over).
However the magic piece of paper you receive in return probably doesn’t cover what you really need to photograph, if the iconic sites of Monaco are part of the brief. To apply for this, you have to ask for The Appropriate Form to be sent to you and fill it out at least 15 days in advance of the shoot, stipulating the equipment you intend to use, the make of car you drive and the colour of your underpants (alright, not quite the last one). Well, there is a general ‘OK, you can take pictures in Monaco’ document that is issued by the Department of the Interior. A one-pager for Delta Airline’s in-flight magazine that took almost as long to arrange permissions for as it did to shoot
