Parking controversy at the future police station: officers will have a parking lot

Tweet, retweet, and counter-tweet. Since Tuesday, a controversy has been brewing on social media over parking at the future police headquarters, scheduled for completion at the end of the year. Eric Ciotti (Union of the Right for the Republic), MP and departmental council member, published a copy of a letter addressed to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, deploring the fact that "no clear and lasting parking solution has been planned for the municipal and national police officers who will be working on this site."

The response was swift. Deputy Mayors Anthony Borré (for Security) and Gaël Nofri (for Transport) cut short the controversy. The latter wrote laconically that "yes, parking is planned; everything has been thought out with the State and for our police officers."

However, this did not stop the web from getting heated on the subject. Because the police union Alliance PN06 also communicated on its networks, repeating word for word the beginning of Eric Ciotti's sentence: "No clear and lasting parking solution has been planned" adding "for our colleagues" . It also indicates that it "will be attentive to the follow-up given to this file essential to the proper functioning of this future police headquarters".

"It is quite rare to see a member of parliament so unfamiliar with a file."

The elected representatives of the Nice municipal majority tried throughout the day to reassure them while taking advantage of these exchanges to criticize the MP.

Indeed, a typo had crept into his initially published and then unpublished letter: Marshall Square had become "Maréchale". Anthony Borré nevertheless needed to reprimand his rival: " In the absence of having corrected the false information, by a new letter (what a waste of paper) the "Maréchale" square (what a slip of the tongue) has become Marshall Square again. This is progress. Come on, just a little more effort to get closer to the truth."

He continued in another tweet: "It is quite rare to see an MP so ignorant of an issue. The subject has been worked on for many years and it has always been said that the Marshall car park would be dedicated to civil servants."

Gaël Nofri also did not hold back in accusing Eric Ciotti of " trying again to denigrate a quality project, serving Nice, the people of Nice and their security by arguing over a subject already anticipated, dealt with and managed with the State services."

Two parking lots dedicated to police officers

Asked, the Deputy Minister for Transport gave an update on the matter: "Since the launch of the police station construction project, parking for police officers has been planned. A parking lot under the building will be dedicated to screen-printed vehicles with a sufficient number of spaces since it was the State that managed this aspect. Then, the Marshall parking lot will be entirely dedicated to the people who will work there, with the exception of those of the lessees [people who held spaces in the parking lot before the launch of the project]. Finally, another parking lot will be dug under Place Wilson [with a capacity of 350 to 400 spaces, delivered in 2028] to accommodate the public."