A few days ago, Christian Estrosi announced his intention to implement a carbon tax of 60 euros per stopover and per vehicle for travelers using ferries between Nice and Corsica. This highly criticized tax could ultimately lead to the complete closure of the route, and this is not to everyone’s liking…
According to the mayor of Nice, “too much space is given to vehicles” in the port area. The metropolis wants to “act on the main sources of pollution” in this location. Christian Estrosi also wishes to “dissuade ferry users from transporting their personal vehicles” and wants to implement a carbon tax of 60 euros, “because one ton of CO2 is emitted by the ferry at that time, which is the equivalent of a round trip from Brussels to New York.”
But this is not the only issue pointed out by the mayor and the metropolis; Gaël Nofri, a deputy at the town hall, also addresses the traffic and parking problems caused by the route: “The access to our port is restricted, and each boarding and disembarkation causes 70% of the congestion in the eastern sector of the city. The activity generated by the ferries poses real problems in this neighborhood.”
This tax is provoking strong reactions, and the financial impact is initially highlighted. Pierre Mattei, president of Corsica Ferries, is concerned: “Increasing the price of crossings by several tens of percent would represent a considerable effort for passengers. The crossings from Nice are the shortest, take place during the day, and are the least expensive.”
Elected officials from the National Rally have also expressed their disagreement with this decision: “This measure penalizes families and the less well-off but will also harm the vitality of our city.”
The ecological impact is also being questioned. As stated by Pierre Mattei, “The boat is the most ecological means to travel to Corsica.”
The metropolis has also used the organization of the Nice port as an argument for this tax. For them, it is different from other points of departure/arrival: “The port of Nice has a configuration that is not the same as that in Toulon or Savona,” which are considered more suitable for maritime passenger transport.
The president of Corsica Ferries has begun to anticipate the impact that the tax would cause, hinting at a possible permanent closure of the route: “In the long term, such a tax would call into question the economic viability of the Nice stopover.”
