Just over four months before the first round of the municipal elections, the political scene in Nice is heating up. Christian Estrosi seems ready to officially launch his campaign sooner than expected. The Nice Front Populaire is targeting the outgoing mayor on functional protection and job defense. Éric Ciotti flaunts his closeness with the Rassemblement National, while citizen lists refine their arguments.
Christian Estrosi has chosen to surprise. On Monday, on his social media, the outgoing mayor released a short video, punctuated with a clear message: “you are impatient… Well, so am I!” Everything suggests the appointment is set for Saturday, November 22 at 10 a.m., at the OcéaNice convention center. Officially, the subject of this meeting has not been specified, but there is no longer any doubt.
Christian Estrosi had however said he would not run before 2026. He explained his desire to “remain mayor until the last minute.” He will finally hold his first political meeting at the OcéaNice center, inaugurated last June. This appointment is likely to mark the presentation of his ambassadors, including Anthony Borré, his first deputy, who should play leading roles in a team of over 200 supporters from various neighborhoods of the city.
Attacks against Christian Estrosi continue
The Nice Front Populaire of Mireille Damiano reacted strongly to the decision of Nice-Matin to transfer its production to Vitrolles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône. For Robert Injey, the management “sacrifices around a hundred jobs in the Nice area.” The leader also denounces “the inaction of the main officials of our city, Mr. Estrosi and Ciotti, hardly concerned about the future of employment.”
This announcement of the closure of the last local printing site crystallizes tensions around industrial employment in the metropolis. “We support the demand expressed several times by the employees of the Nice-Matin group to maintain the production site in our city,” insists Robert Injey.
Another candidate for the Nice Front Populaire list, David Nakache, directly attacks the mayor of Nice. In a text released this week, he criticizes “the misuse of functional protection.” According to him, Christian Estrosi uses this mechanism to attack his opponents: “these procedures result in judicializing public debate and unnecessarily clogging up the courts. They deter, due to the fear of a trial, any citizen wanting to defend strong claims.”
He recalls that the mayor, according to him, used public funds to finance several legal actions: “in the two cases Christian Estrosi initiated and lost against me, he supposedly spent more than €23,000 of Nice taxpayers’ money.” For the Nice Front Populaire, it is a democratic and moral issue: “the people of Nice shouldn’t have to pay for the mayor’s political obsession with his opponents.”
Eric Ciotti and Jordan Bardella, a right-wing convergence?
The right wing in Nice is undergoing rapid reorganization. On Friday, November 7, Jordan Bardella was in Nice to sign copies of his book What the French Want. The president of the Rassemblement National displayed his closeness with Éric Ciotti. On social media, the RN posted: “with our friends from the UDR (embodied by Éric Ciotti), we fight to restore France’s greatness, prosperity, and to ensure the safety of the French.”
The UDR deputy hailed “a massive mobilization that demonstrates a great desire for change, and for the imminence of an alternation.” This publicly acknowledged political rapprochement could weigh heavily in the municipal campaign. Éric Ciotti was accompanied by his campaign director Bernard Chaix. A clear signal of his intention to solidify an electoral alliance with the far right ahead of the vote.
Arguments are being refined
The Nice political landscape is no longer simply an Estrosi-Ciotti confrontation. Other candidacies are taking shape. Nathalie Dloussky leads the Together for the Greatness of Nice list. In a recently released statement, she warns against “a growing Islamic threat, largely underestimated by mainstream media.” She speaks of “migration control difficulties” and “flawed governance” that have “created fertile ground for radicalization.” Her list takes a security and identity stance: “we call for constant vigilance and a firm policy to defend civil peace, republican values, the historical identity of the city, and the security of citizens, and by extension, the country.”
On the United for Nice side, the lead candidate, Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, criticized the organization of the 2030 Olympic Games in Nice. In an interview with BFM Nice, she addressed the cost of creating the new ice rink that will serve the Nice Eagles. The future complex is expected to have 10,000 seats for a total budget of €138 million, as reported by Frédéric Maillot, the sports budget reporter. “I was sure the ice rink would be very expensive, but €138 million is stunning. It’s even scandalous when you know the state of sports facilities in Niceelaborating on this last point. Even though the Nice Eagles deserve a proper ice rink, it’s true that the Jean-Bouin rink is in a disastrous state and deserved renovations a long time ago.” The opposition councilor concluded by explaining, “we need to allocate funding where it’s really needed, not just for 15 days of events,” and proposed relocating ice hockey events to Marseille, which already has an Olympic rink. “We don’t need to spend such an amount to create an Olympic ice rink. Our Nice Eagles team needs a good rink for competitions, of quality, but not necessarily Olympic.”
Julien Picot, president of PC06 and also a member of the United for Nice list, criticizes “fiscal gifts to the wealthiest.” He condemns “the elimination of the CVAE” and calls for “a fair and effective tax,” known as the Zucman tax. For him, “Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti have the same project: a city at the service of the powerful.” He proposes a public debate “project against project,” believing that the people of Nice deserve “a real democratic debate, clear and without deceit.”
Lastly, Hélène Granouillac, ecologist councilor, who announced her candidacy about a month ago at the head of Vivre Nice, a citizen list, spoke with Nice Premium. The metropolitan councilor aims to bring together “the disillusioned, the discouraged, both right and left.” She explains: “I think there is a way for people who want to go beyond these quite sterile conflicts.” The elected official distances herself from Europe Écologie-Les Verts, which she considers “very immature and superficial.” She advocates for “freedom of expression and action” and an “eco-compatible” approach with other local sensibilities.
With four months until the first round, the campaign in Nice promises to be dense. Christian Estrosi takes the lead with an early launch. Éric Ciotti embraces his rapprochement with the RN. The Nice Front Populaire applies pressure on the social issue. Meanwhile, new voices, ecologist or citizen-oriented, strive to make their mark in a saturated landscape.
The people of Nice will have a choice between very different projects. The coming weeks will reveal whether alliances solidify or if division, both right and left, opens the door to a multifaceted campaign.
