The mayor of Nice, who signed an order to ban large cruise ships last month, has had a change of heart. Following opposition from local businesses and discussions with city officials, Mayor Christian Estrosi has backtracked and is set to propose a new compromise plan for cruise ship calls.
He had recently said cruise ships carrying more than 900 passengers would be banned. He had said small luxury vessels would be allowed to dock in the city. Estrosi’s original plan was to ban large ships from tendering offshore at nearby Villefranche-sur-mer. His comments a month ago also caused a stir. He described guests of big cruise ships as “low-cost clientele.”
New Compromise Cruise Ship Plan to Be Submitted
The city dock in Nice can accommodate small yacht cruise vessels but larger ships call at Villefranche-sur-mer. Now, the Mayor will submit a revised compromise plan to the port authority this week that he says balances “public health interests and supports the local economy”.
The new plan would allow cruise ships carrying up to 2,500 passengers to anchor in the bay of Villefranche-sur-mer, but only one ship would be permitted each day. Smaller vessels with less than 450 passengers can sail into Nice’s port.
The port authority told local press that based on this limit, only 65 of the scheduled 90 cruise ship calls for this summer would be allowed. It is still unclear when the new revised rules, if passed, would take effect. More than 100 small vessels are scheduled to dock at the port of Nice this year.
Environmental groups, which had hailed the Mayor’s decision a month ago, criticized the backtracking. “The Mediterranean isn’t a trash bin and our coast shouldn’t be sacrificed to satisfy the economic interests of a few,” the groups said in a statement.
