A court in France has dealt a big blow to the new cruise ship restrictions imposed in the French Riviera city of Nice.
The Administrative Court of Nice blocked a recent decree issued by the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi.
The Mayor had imposed cruise ship restrictions for vessels docking in the city and anchoring offshore. Estrosi capped ships of no more than 450 guests docking at the port of Nice.
Additionally, ships of more than 2,500 passengers were not permitted to anchor in the bay at nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Nice Mayor Doesn’t Have Legal Authority, Court Says
However, the court ruled that the city of Nice and the Mayor don’t have jurisdiction to issue the ordinance.
The court concluded Estrosi didn’t have the authority.
That falls to the Prefet (chief region administrator) of the Alpes-Maritimes region, the court said.
The Prefet had brought the case to court in a bid to block the cruise restrictions.
The Prefet alone has the “powers of policing the waters, to organise the entry, exits and movements of ships.”
The court also said the Mayor’s decree violated “the freedom of movement for cruise ship passengers and the freedom of trade and industry for cruise operators.”
Just a couple of days after issuing the cruise ship restrictions, Mayor Estrosi got into an angry spat with the crew of Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas.
According to the Mayor, it violated rules as the ship has a capacity for 3,600 guests. Brandishing a letter demanding the ship leave, he shouted at the crew to “Get out of here. You are not allowed to be there.”
On this occasion, cruise ship guests were able to disembark to Nice without any further issues. Cruise Lines International Association sharply criticized the Mayor’s confrontational behavior.
“Such conduct is deeply regrettable, as they undermine efforts by the cruise industry to build cooperative relationships with municipalities,” a CLIA spokesperson said.
