Limited XXL cruises near Nice: faced with Estrosi's decree, the CCI draws out an economic impact study

On January 24, the President of the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis issued a decree preventing, as of ^August 1, cruise ships with more than 900 passengers from disembarking on the metropolitan coastline, particularly in the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer , in order to dissuade them from planning stopovers. This decision is motivated both by the fight against overtourism and environmental concerns. " Cruises that pollute, that dump their low-cost clientele, who consume nothing but leave their waste behind, have no place here," Christian Estrosi had then criticized.

If the announcement could only delight the environmentalists of the Côte d'Azur who have long denounced "hypocrisy" of the Mayor Horizons of Nice on the matter, it was, unsurprisingly, not received with the same fervour from professionals in the maritime and tourism sectors. It was in fact in the face of their legitimate concern that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Alpes-Maritimes launched, at its last general meeting, an economic impact study in order to measure the repercussions of the decree on the local economy. "We have already started and we should have finished in the course of next week" , indicates Jean-Pierre Savarino, the president of the CCI. In a half-hearted manner, he regrets a lack of consultation. "Necessarily, any decision taken in haste provokes reactions, and in this case, concerns" , he observes.

Interviewed by Nice-Matin , Nicolas Plumion, the president of the Maritime Union 06 and technical advisor to the CCI, does not mince his words. In the columns of the regional daily, he denounces a " brutal and questionable" decree. "As part of the fight against overtourism, we have 150,000 to 200,000 passengers, which means that we only represent 1% of the activity of the Nice Côte d'Azur airport. And for the environmental aspect, no study has been conducted. This decision is inconsistent," he grumbles. And the latter recalls that on December 5, the Metropolis had signed a commitment on the "Sustainable Cruises" charter aimed at welcoming these large ships. "And a month later, we refuse them," he observes.

Moreover, 165,000 passengers are expected in the territory of the Metropolis this year. "How many exactly will be prevented from disembarking? This is where we are trying to be most precise thanks to the study carried out to find out what impact the president's decree will really have" , continues Jean-Pierre Savarino. Traders, restaurateurs, hoteliers, small artisans ... every year, all benefit from the arrival, particularly during the summer period, of cruise passengers. "It is true that some are for the moment a little frightened by Christian Estrosi's announcement" , acknowledges the president of the CCI.

But he wants to believe in the ability of the Côte d'Azur councillor to engage in dialogue. "He has always had a real concern for regional planning, and this of course involves the development of economic activities. He would have no interest in killing them. And he will certainly take into account what we tell him when the time comes, our suggestions and our guidelines," insists Jean-Pierre Savarino.

In fact, faced with the discontent of a whole section of the local economic sector, the chief magistrate of Nice had raised the idea of ​​a compensation fund in the event of financial losses at the beginning of February. " If after analyzing their accounts, which they will make available to the metropolis, they had the slightest deficit because there are no longer these floating hotels in the harbor, we are ready to study a form of compensation," he announced on Ici Azur (formerly France Bleu), defending "public health above all."

An outstretched hand that the Maritime Union and the Villefranche-sur-Mer traders' association did not take at the time. "We were not asking for aid or subsidies," they dismissed in a press release. And added: " In the context of current deficits, it would be irresponsible to ask taxpayers to compensate for a brutal political decision, which could simply be adjusted." They were then considering challenging the order before the administrative court with a summary suspension order. According to their information, cruises generate annual revenues estimated at between 10 and 15 million euros in metropolitan France.