After the reactions of [Jacques Peyrat](https://www.nicepremium.fr/article/jacques-peyrat-veut-une-nouvelle-prison-a-nice.2170.html), [Rudy Salles](https://www.nicepremium.fr/article/-rudy-salles-s-exprime-sur-la-prison-de-nice.2178.html), and [Hervé Caël](https://www.nicepremium.fr/article/le-docteur-herve-cael-au-chevet-de-la-prison-de-nice.2200.html) on the various problems and the new location of the Nice prison, it is now the turn of Muriel Marland Militello, UMP deputy, and Jean Icart to share their impressions on the increasingly unsuitable urban penitential facility in Nice for the surrounding neighborhood.
Nice-Premium: What can be done to quickly find a solution to the obsolescence of the Nice prison?
Jean Icart: It is obvious to everyone that the Nice prison is no longer suitable, and its location is no longer in line with the current site and judicial needs.
The decision to establish it in the Plaine du Var was recognized as a mistake by the investigating commissioner during the public inquiry conducted in 2005, both for reasons of remoteness and the existence of private land. This has been the root of delays in finding a solution despite its urgency.
I actively participated in this inquiry and proposed several sites. I have already submitted my proposals to the Minister of Justice.
Muriel Marland Militello: The inmates have already participated very effectively in the renovation of many spaces (living areas, cells…). This is a quick but necessarily temporary solution.
NP: Three prisoners for one place: how did we get here?
JI: It should first be clarified that the problem must be resolved within the jurisdiction of the Nice Court of First Instance (thus east of the Var), as that of Grasse already has a prison cited as an example.
MMM: The prison is overcrowded because we took too long to relocate the prison and because the police and justice have done their job very well: arresting delinquents.
NP: Where should the next prison be located and how can we make it acceptable to the neighbors?
JI: The site must meet several criteria: ease of access for families, proximity to the court (a maximum of twenty minutes), and finally, compatibility with the neighborhood.
MMM: The general interest must take precedence over the private interests of a few.
NP: What would be your project for the current prison?
JI: Based on these criteria, I have found different plots that meet these requirements and have visited them:
– At the foot of Mont Macaron (known as Les Thouars), a stony plot, distant from residential areas, which could be made easily accessible from Paillon with an existing forest path.
– The Plateau de la Larre, a stony plot without nearby buildings, close to the shooting range, existing roads requiring an extension by 500 m.
– The Tercier plateau, a scrub-covered area, which should be developed as a business zone with roadworks to be handled within this framework.
We can also add the Lafarge quarry, already serviced.
Most of these sites are public property, so construction would not require expropriation.
The plots freed in the city could be used more usefully for a project like Jean Bouin or to enhance the neighborhood with a much-needed park.
MMM: The current prison could be very advantageously transformed into a vocational high school for the Arts and an artists’ residence with exhibition and performance spaces.
