Chaired by Mr. Jacques Peyrat, the “Master” of Nice, the summer meeting of the City Hall was set to be heated. The latest politico-judicial cases were on everyone’s mind. Hot topics were to be discussed for a collective decision: the future of the Buffa city, the expansion of the Ariane free zone, the redevelopment of the Saint-Jean-d’Angély university center, tramway works, and the new stadium.
Mr. Mayor, who is somewhat irritable, had found the tactic to silence his opponents: anyone who dares to contradict him is deprived of the microphone. A magic formula that has proven effective.
The meeting went on with little disturbance. However, a few objections managed to break through the sound barrier. Due to insufficient budget, the City will be forced to sell the Buffa city to a private investor for more than 2 million euros. A glitch: his name remains anonymous to this day. Outcry from the representatives of the merchants: “It’s a rigged project from the start. It’s costly and we don’t even know what it’s going to entail. It’s vague.” Immediately suppressed with a dry: “Well, shall we vote?” Auguste Vérola, a merchant and general councilor of UMP, who was directly concerned, replied wearily: “Every time we have an opinion, you ignore us.”
Even more controversial, the Pasteur project and the Ariane area as a whole. A sensitive area on several levels, it triggered violent debates. To begin with, the PCF City Councilor, Simone Monticelli, timidly rose up against the presence of the debris, left as is after the demolition of the Maccario building in Ariane. “I reiterate the request for containment because the inhabitants wonder if there isn’t a risk of asbestos.” Impassive, Mr. Mayor responds: “My poor Ms. Monticelli, you are a little thing, you are nothing in front of the inspector.” It was an opportunity for Dominique Estrosi, a city councilor, to vigorously reprimand the Councilor, stunned: “You are engaging in misinformation, in ‘stirring up trouble’! You are not serving the population well. We regret that the debris is still there, especially during the summer period. But they are not dangerous. Stop with your asbestos stories!” The Mayor adds: “You are an obstacle to the demolition of social housing.” And cuts the microphone.
Even stronger: the removal of the police station. Once again, Councilor Monticelli is outraged: “The closure of the police station is a disaster. Since then, acts of vandalism, of savagery, serious, that we did not know before, have multiplied. And I’m not even talking about the works, at the point we are now. But we have reached a threshold of traffic insecurity…” “Thank you Ms. Simone,” replies Mr. Peyrat, with a mocking smile, yet very meticulous about insecurity. Following this logic, there will not be a giant screen in all neighborhoods for the World Cup final. “What scares him is that the young people from Ariane might come downtown,” confides Jean-Marie Tarragoni, the former confidant of the Mayor.
Passions were at their peak on the subject of extending the urban free zone to the Bon Voyage, Saint-André, and La Trinité neighborhoods. Nice Plurielle, the municipal councilors’ opposition group, pointed out that the success of the ZFUs was debatable concerning the Ariane neighborhood. Feelings of confinement, lack of cultural initiatives, lack of financial support from the municipality, unemployment, educational failure… Ariane is a Molotov cocktail of urban woes. “The type of contracts offered in ZFUs is problematic and I am still waiting for your indications,” dares Bruno Della-Sudda, a teacher at the Ariane college and opposition city councilor.
Microphone cut off, in favor of the National Front. “It is necessary to expand this experience due to the security fears of the neighbors of the free zones,” claims this loyal lieutenant of the Master. New intervention by the opposition: “I would like to remind you that 58 companies in this neighborhood had to be restructured by URSSAF in June for millions of euros.” Frédérique Grégoire, a municipal councilor from the Nice Plurielle list, is very agitated. The entire Council is on fire. “You weren’t even born when the Municipal Council was created,” slips Jacques Peyrat. Mic cut again and back to voting. Like poultry affected by bird flu, residents of neighboring areas will also be confined. The opposition votes against the expansion. The majority for.
The City Council closed on a new soap opera sequence. “The opposition played its role of opposition, the majority its role,” concludes Auguste Vérola. “Overall, the projects are good, but we cannot express ourselves. We must stop mocking people continuously, bringing everything back to oneself. What is good for the city is good for the Mayor, but what is good for the Mayor is not necessarily good for the city.” Next episode in September.
