The inauguration of Christian Estrosi’s headquarters for the upcoming municipal elections almost took on the semblance of a “flash mob”. Suddenly, this Monday at noon, a dense crowd packed into rue Saint-François de Paule, blocking the passage of cars and limiting that of pedestrians. “Excuse me, I would like to go home,” said an elderly gentleman making his way through the crowd. The visual effect was a success: the strategic timing of the inauguration – during the lunch break – gathered a large number of significant UMP supporters.
At the center of attention, Christian Estrosi then turned the event into a political rally. In a concise and comprehensive speech, he presented all the main themes of his program. More than just a candidate for mayor of Nice, he spoke as the president of the Alpes-Maritimes General Council and, he hopes, the future mayor of Nice. Thus, Christian Estrosi did not fail to mention his successes at the head of the department: “The decrease in unemployment in the Alpes-Maritimes over the last few years has been above the national average.” And also: “The Marseille-Nice TGV line will be operational by 2020 at the latest.”
Nice’s failure to become the Capital of Culture? “A humiliation!”
In the realm of departmental politics, Christian Estrosi did not hesitate to criticize his future rival on the right, Jacques Peyrat, current mayor of Nice and also president of the CANCA. “When we reduced the bus fare from 1.30 to 1 euro, only CANCA was reluctant.” However, this argument convinced few in the audience. He was more animated when the UMP candidate stated he was opposed to building a new city hall, preferring “to use these resources to build sociocultural complexes for the benefit of the people of Nice.” This proves that, although both hold UMP membership, Christian Estrosi does not at all claim the political legacy of Jacques Peyrat.
It’s in contrast to the Peyrat era that Christian Estrosi wants to position himself. He notably vehemently criticized the failure of the Nice European Capital of Culture 2013 project: “The fact that our city came thirteenth out of thirteen candidate cities is a real humiliation. Yes, a humiliation!” Similarly, for sustainable development: “Nice must become an example of environmental issues throughout the Côte d’Azur. We must introduce an eco-tax on transportation, and reuse this money for our public transport policy.” In this way, Christian Estrosi hopes to quickly obtain the “green city” label for Nice.
Emphasizing that he hoped for a “profound change for 2008, and to continue in the following years,” he placed his “Permanent Change” headquarters just steps from the Nice city hall.
