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Christian Estrosi wants to regulate the reception of cruise ships in the port of Nice

2023-05-28T13:10:41.693Z

Highlights: The management of the port of Nice, which also includes the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, will be addressed on July 1. The change, linked to the organization of the Ocean Summit in 2025, should simplify the procedures for the future development. The city only wants to accommodate cruises of less than 180 meters. The elected opposition to the municipal and metropolitan council also sees it as a trick to deport in the medium or long term even more giant liners in the harbor.


On July 1st, the metropolis of Nice Côte d'Azur will recover the guardianship of the port, which also includes the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer. When its president Christian Estrosi assures that he no longer wishes for "great liners", his opponents cry "hypocrisy".


Le Figaro Nice

A metropolitan council will be held at the end of June and a theme is already emerging. The management of the port of Nice, which also includes the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes), will be addressed, a few days before the takeover by the metropolis of Nice Côte d'Azur, on July 1, instead of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This change, linked to the organization of the Ocean Summit in 2025, should simplify the procedures for the future development of the port, since a new convention center will be installed for the event. The final negotiations are underway to finalize this early recovery.

There are still many questions and a lot of work to come. "As soon as we approach the maritime, it's a mess!", says a connoisseur of these subjects on the Côte d'Azur. Christian Estrosi's "green" ambition for his city also wants to continue on the port of Nice. On this route comes into account the question of the flow of boats, and in particular those of cruises. This week, two stopped on the quays of Nice, the "MS Amadea" and the "World Traveler".

During a visit to Genoa alongside Édouard Philippe at the beginning of the month, Christian Estrosi slipped that it would be fine to receive large liners in Nice and that he would gladly leave them in Marseille or the Italian city. More precise translation? Eventually, the city only wants to accommodate cruises of less than 180 meters. With the project to electrify the quays of Nice, the community plans to drive the most polluting boats from the chic district of the city. Those who are not able to connect will no longer be able to come to the fifth city of France. "But there will always be cruise ships in Nice," says one employee.

" READ ALSO Alpes-Maritimes: Menton relies on the reception of cruise passengers to boost its tourist attractiveness

'Little monsters'

The ecologists of Nice are indignant at the "total hypocrisy" of Christian Estrosi. "When he talks about small boats, some still accommodate up to 600 people," says Juliette Chesnel-Leroux, elected EELV in Nice. They are still little monsters!" According to a programmatic document of cruise arrivals, nearly 400 tourist boats are to approach Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer until 2025, the dates to be set two years in advance.

The elected opposition to the municipal and metropolitan council also sees it as a trick to deport in the medium or long term even more giant liners in the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, which is part of the overall management of the port of Nice. It will host 72 this year. "This is the suicide of our Mediterranean," she adds. It is the very representation of an overtourism that no longer has any reason to be, especially in a closed area such as a roadstead."

The arrival in the harbor, one of the most popular places on the Côte d'Azur, is a strict and complex procedure between several actors. "Even I, sometimes, I do not understand!", admits the mayor Christophe Trojani (The Republicans). The change of port manager offers him an opportunity to advance his buoys to obtain more skills. Today, to enter the harbor, boats over 50 meters must be piloted by a member of the maritime prefecture. The organization of shuttles to take tourists from the sea to land is managed by the department. And the passage through the ferry terminal through the metropolis. The municipality can only manage buses for these short time travelers and thus try to regulate the flow.

See alsoRedevelopment of the port of Nice: will yachts replace Corsica Ferries?

Simplify

"I want to simplify all this," explains Christophe Trojani. And for that, I want to recover the management of the ferry terminal. That's how I can handle the cruise issue as I see fit." The mayor does not defend zero cruises but plans to receive "a maximum of 60, and the cleanest, that is to say that boats to standards," he says.

Clarifications are therefore expected by both the ecologists and the mayor of Villefranchois, each with his concerns. Following the next metropolitan council, Christophe Trojani will not fail to start negotiations. "The will of Estrosi is to do what Villefranche-sur-Mer wants to do," predicts already a close to the edile.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-05-28

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