Local officials from the Côte d’Azur and the Gard are strongly opposed to the creation of an air link between Nice and Nîmes. Scheduled for June 2025, this project is being promoted by the company L’Odyssey, a subsidiary of Jet Airlines.
“An ecological aberration.” This is how the project for creating an air route between Nice and Nîmes is received by several local political figures. They denounce this as a “nonsense” at a time when environmental issues advocate for reducing short-haul air travel.
“It’s an absurd idea.” Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, a city councilor in Nice, does not hesitate to use strong words to criticize this project. Scheduled for June 2025, the link is expected to offer 58-minute flights between the two cities. The price of a one-way ticket is expected to be around 75 euros. “Nîmes is less than four hours away by car from Nice,” Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux reminds. “Adding a line for such a trivial need is ridiculous and criminal.”
For her, the money invested in this link should rather be devoted to the development of the rail network, allowing more efficient connections between Nice and Montpellier. “The objective should be to put resources into rail lines, into trains that can go from Nice to Montpellier quickly,” argues the ecologist official. “The train is the most energy-efficient option.”
In Nîmes, Valérie Rouverand, a Renaissance official, shares this view despite her different political leanings. She describes the line as a “contradiction of ecological imperatives.” On the social network X, she criticizes: “Why promote short-haul flights to Nice or Barcelona, already accessible by train? High carbon footprint, minimal time savings, cost to taxpayers…”
In compliance with the law
In response to these criticisms, the Nîmes municipality, through Jean-Paul Fournier (Les Républicains), defends the project. According to him, the creation of new air links will enhance the attractiveness of the city. He believes it will help attract foreign visitors. “For every euro invested in the airport, there is a 40-euro return for the territory,” claims the municipality, based on a study from the Occitanie region.
The link is, however, compliant. In May 2023, the ban on short flights in France came into force, in accordance with the 2021 Climate and Resilience Law. This ban, however, only applies to travel for which there is a train alternative of less than two and a half hours.
As the controversy grows, this project is raising increasing questions. Ecologist officials are calling for the line to be canceled. For now, no legal action has been initiated.
