Present since 2007 at the Cimiez arenas, the association only learned of its exclusion a few days before the event. A late decision with heavy financial consequences, which Nissa Pantai considers discriminatory.
This is an absence that will not go unnoticed. For the first time since 2007, the Nissa Pantai association will not have a stand at the Mai festival organized at the Cimiez arenas on May 1, 4, 11, 18, and 25. The announcement was made to them by letter… just a few days before May 1. A late notification, experienced as an unjustified sidelining by its members. “We are stunned,” confides Ciril Joanin, the association’s president. The people of Nice were already ready to celebrate the Mai: “we invested thinking we would participate: purchase of t-shirts, preparation of activities, logistics. Everything is ready. And we learn at the last minute that we won’t be there.”
The association claims to have followed up twice with municipal services while awaiting a response. It was only on Monday, April 28, that they received a rejection letter from the municipality, citing an “excessive number of stands” to justify the exclusion. An explanation the president deems unfounded: “there is always space at the arenas. That is not the real reason.”
A critical loss of income
Beyond the shock, it is the very balance of the association that is jeopardized. According to its president, the absence of a stand at this festival represents an estimated loss of about 2,500 euros, or around 40% of their annual budget. Moreover, according to Ciril Joanin, other structures pursuing a similar objective, such as the promotion of Niçoise culture, have secured a spot: “three other comparable associations are present. We are the only ones excluded. We feel ostracized.” Nissa Pantai has filed an administrative appeal, claiming that this refusal undermines the parity of representation among organizations working for local culture.
Ciril Joanin: “we will go anyway”
Despite everything, the association does not intend to remain silent: “we will go there anyway on Thursday, hoping to be able to set up and, perhaps, finally get clear answers about this exclusion,” affirms Ciril. This is not the first time that Nissa Pantai claims to be under pressure. Last year already, its subsidies were reduced. A series of events that the association begins to view as “an attempt at erasure,” in a context where local Niçoise culture sometimes struggles to find its place in major municipal events.
