The Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis has just joined the Plan Bleu to develop sustainable tourism. A topic that has been sparking debate for several months.
The Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis continues its commitments towards more environmentally friendly tourism. Having already limited large cruises and regulated tourist accommodations, it is now joining the Plan Bleu, a body under the United Nations Environment Programme.
Thus, Nice becomes the only French site to integrate NaTour4ClimateChange. This European project, led by Plan Bleu and the Interreg Euro Med programme, aims to prevent overtourism and develop more sustainable tourism. It covers six Mediterranean sites located in Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. With a budget of nearly three million euros, it will allow for adapting tourism practices to climate and environmental issues.
This project is a continuation of the actions carried out by the Metropolis. The Climate Plan, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, the adaptation of urban spaces to climate upheavals, and the fight against plastic pollution and water waste are measures already underway.
Christian Estrosi: “Protecting the Mediterranean is protecting our identity“
Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, emphasizes the importance of this initiative: “Our destinies are deeply connected. Anything that contributes to more cooperation, more exchanges, and better results is good news. Protecting the Mediterranean is protecting our identity and working for future generations. Nice, which will host the United Nations Ocean Conference next June, has a duty to set an example on this issue.”
In this dynamic, Christian Estrosi also chairs the Coalition of Coastal Cities and Regions, which will be launched alongside the United Nations Ocean Conference. This initiative reinforces Nice’s role in Mediterranean environmental policies.
An opposition highlighting contradictions
The citizen collective ViVA! expresses reservations about this policy. They note that the ban on large cruise ships announced by Christian Estrosi primarily affects Villefranche-sur-Mer. If implemented, it will reduce marine and atmospheric pollution. However, ViVA! criticizes the mayor of Nice for justifying this decision by referring to “low-cost tourists who do not spend enough.”
The opposition denounces a selective vision of tourism and fears a strategy aimed at promoting luxury tourism. The expansion of the Nice port could ultimately be used to accommodate superyachts and high-end cruises, thus reinforcing a form of elitist overtourism.
ViVA! also raises alarm over another project led by the Metropolis: the expansion of terminal 2 at the airport. According to the collective, this expansion would have severe environmental and health consequences. It would favor business and luxury tourism.
The citizen movement announces that it will participate in the associative and citizen march on February 8 against this project and will remain vigilant regarding the effective implementation of the large cruise ban. They advocate for responsible and managed tourism, respectful of the environment and residents, creating sustainable and socially useful jobs.