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A little tense, Christian Estrosi does not want to lose face:
"We are a world capital of culture!"
, he launches to the journalists gathered in his office Friday at the end of the day.
All came to hear the reaction of the mayor of Nice after the announcement of the four cities pre-selected to become the European Capital of Culture in 2028. Bourges, Montpellier, Rouen, Clermont-Ferrand... But not Nice.
A good player, Christian Estrosi nevertheless congratulates the four candidates still in the running, wishing them
“good luck and a good end to the course which will make it possible to retain the winning city which will honor France in 2028.
”
For the fifth largest city in France, it's a cold shower.
And as bright as it is, the sun of the Côte d'Azur will not warm anything.
It must be said that here, we had been preparing for a long time to wear the prestigious coronation.
La Baie des Anges was not lacking in arguments, however: 328 days of filming hosted in 2022, a carnival recognized throughout the world, dozens of exhibitions in the 12 museums and galleries of the city, XXL concerts, a program of choice at the cinematheque, the reception of the arrival of the Tour de France in 2024, or the Ironman World Cup (triathlon) next September, etc.
Nice had even been listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in July 2021.
Read alsoEuropean Capital of Culture for 2028: Clermont-Ferrand, Rouen, Bourges and Montpellier in the final
Not to mention that as part of its candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028 - whose theme is "Connecting the unexpected" - the metropolis was the first in France to have invested in the metaverse.
On February 14, the city councilor plunged into the virtual world to present the Villa Masséna, a building emblematic of the history and culture of Nice.
“Between Nice and culture, it is a fusional link which allows all Nice people, Azureans and lovers of the South to meet, to discover or rediscover quality moments with family or friends”, had still greeted there
is a few weeks the president of the PACA region and friend of the city councilor of Nice, Renaud Muselier.
Marseille already winner of the title in 2013
How then can this painful failure be explained?
During a city council in early February, the opposition - environmentalists in particular - had reprimanded the candidacy of the city even though it is destroying cultural buildings.
In this case, the national theater of Nice and the Acropolis exhibition center.
“What a strange politics of culture which consists in smashing up what we already have and scattering it as far as possible to give the illusion that you are multiplying the loaves.
We are not fooled, this bread we will not swallow it»
, retorted the EELV leader, Juliette Chesnel Leroux.
Others would rather see it as a choice of the jury - made up of twelve independent European members - to voluntarily rule out Nice's candidacy when its neighbor Marseille had already won the title in 2013. Something like: "Too much PACA is killing
PACA !”
Disappointment but still a strong commitment "in favor of a great cultural policy"
"After our long fight for the inclusion of "Nice, the winter resort city of the Riviera" on the UNESCO World Heritage List and when the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region had already been winner with Marseille 2013, we were aware of leaving with a very significant delay compared to the candidates who for some had been working on their file for more than 5 years.
Nice2028 was a tremendous highlight of our cultural policy, which we want to be inclusive and eco-responsible.
We will more than ever continue on this path.
The dynamic initiated since May 2021 will be at the service of this new trajectory in favor of our territory.
Nice selected by the UN for the organization of the United Nations Ocean Summit in 2025,
already has the biggest event of this decade organized in France.
His legacy could have been useful to the European Capital of Culture by adding green, blue and culture, but for all that we remain on the same trajectory in favor of a major cultural policy.”
On Twitter, the opposition tackles everything.
Eric Ciotti, for his part, points to "
the sad and logical consequence of the massacre of Nice's cultural policy."
The deputy of the 1st district of the Alpes-Maritimes wonders:
"How to claim such a title by destroying a national theater, a cinematheque, an auditorium and a dozen performance halls?"
Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux drives the point home, assuring that “
the mayor has scuttled the file.
“
It is a major failure of the Christian Estrosi policy.
Our anger is great in front of this mess”
, she writes again.
"As we announced, Estrosi's choices lead the committee not to select Nice06 to be European Capital of Culture in 2028",
supports Jean Moucheboeuf, elected municipal "Reconquest".
