One week before the vote (the first round will be held on March 15) — the equivalent of the last kilometer of a marathon — Patrick Allemand places his sprint to stay in the race for the second round — if there will be one — or for an honorable place in the internal competition of the left divided into three lists: coming last would be more than a failure!
So, going all in, the head of the Nice at Heart list gathered his supporters in a lounge at the Palais Acropolis, a symbol for him that he wants to protect from the destructive fury of those who want to demolish it.
His possible absence from the upcoming elected Municipal Council would be detrimental to a reasoned opposition, a left-wing voice far from the anti-system radicality of some and the all-knowing attitude of others.
Between 4 and 400 loyal supporters came to listen to him despite the not-so-favorable context for gathering.
The conference began with the presentation of the four themes and more than 150 proposals from the program of Patrick Allemand and his fellow candidates.
Françoise Assus-Juttner (number 2 on the list) spoke about Sustainable Nice, highlighting the proposal “of an energy plan (solar) for public buildings.”
Xavier Garcia (secretary of the Socialist Party supporting this candidacy), reporter for the Fluid Nice section, revisited the “grand cycling plan with safe and, above all, coherent bike paths.”
Christine Dorejo, in charge of the “solidarity” section, did not lack zeal in recalling the lack “of housing for all with the necessity to build 7,000 social housing units — including 1,000 for students — over the term of the mandate.
Finally, Michèle Viale highlighted that economic development must free itself from dependency on the tourism sector and create appropriate structures and social organization for this objective.
In his address, Patrick Allemand reiterated the strong points of the Nice at Heart project, which had been previously presented at various thematic meetings. The main ones are: extension of tram line 1 to Ariane and La Trinité, renouncing the extension of the airport, maintaining the TNN and the Palais Acropolis, transforming the Palais des Expositions into a Palais de la Culture (Carnival Museum and others), establishing a Sports Palace in the west, where all other sports facilities are located, and creating a street art city in Ariane to revitalize the neighborhood.
This was already known and had already been said.
But the part that gave meaning to the title of Patrick Allemand’s remarks — changing the city, changing life — was another: Nice welcomed — he said — Jews as early as 1406, the English in the 18th century, Armenians in 1917, Italians during the fascist era, North Africans and sub-Saharan Africans after decolonization, and many others from various countries worldwide.
And, well, for him, “in this room, I only see Niçoises and Niçois, loving their city and proud to be Niçoises and Niçois. That is the energy of Nice.”
And he concluded with an appeal: “Here is our project, Here is how we envision the future of Nice.”
