An electric debate in Nice between Estrosi and Ciotti, to the detriment of the other candidates

Saturday, March 7, a week before the first round of municipal elections, a highly anticipated second debate was held in Nice, organized by Nice-Matin and the BFM TV channel at the Villa Masséna. Bringing together four mayoral candidates: Christian Estrosi, Éric Ciotti, Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux and Mireille Damiano, the confrontation quickly turned into a duel between the two major figures of the right in Nice.

The debate, which was supposed to begin at 7:30 p.m., actually started approximately 30 minutes late. The news channel was waiting for the publication of videos from the United States showing President Donald Trump saluting the coffins of American soldiers, in a particularly closely watched international context.

Quickly, the debate transformed into a direct confrontation between Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti, former allies turned into political rivals. The two men largely took control of the discussions, accumulating approximately 20 minutes of conversation each, compared to ten minutes for the two other candidates. In this confrontation, many highlights marked the evening. During the debate, Christian Estrosi shared a more emotionally charged moment, mentioning the brutality of the campaign and the personal attacks he believes he is suffering. “Listen Eric, I’m going to tell you something, I’m speaking from my heart, because we worked together for 20 years. So there comes a moment of truth where we can use informal language, call each other by our first names because we’ve spent time together, family time too together. And so there’s this moment where I wonder how someone can today say so many bad things, when I feel I’ve done so much good for him.”

Tension escalated when Éric Ciotti presented what he claimed was evidence of Christian Estrosi’s rapprochement with President Emmanuel Macron. With documents in hand, he accused his opponent of moving away from classical conservatism to get closer to Macron’s power. Éric Ciotti explained: “Mr. Estrosi tells us: I am not a Macronist, but you have to be honest in life.” Éric Ciotti then began to read his document: “sponsorship for the presidential election, Estrosi Christian… I think that’s you,” he said in an ironic tone, “declares he presents as a candidate for the election of President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.” He then continued: “in life, you have to be honest. I assume my alliances and I’m proud of them.” An offensive that rekindled discord between the two former political allies, now direct rivals for the position of mayor of Nice.

In this constant struggle, the debate did not give much voice to the two other candidates, Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux and Mireille Damiano. The two candidates had to position themselves in a discussion often marked by verbal sparring between Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti. With speaking time largely reduced, they struggled to promote their issues and suggestions, sometimes giving the impression of being more witnesses to a confrontation between two historical competitors than part of a genuine exchange bringing together four candidates.

As the first round approaches, which will take place next Sunday, March 15, this debate highlights the strong polarization of the campaign in Nice. With attacks, revelations and old rivalries, the confrontation between Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti remains decisive in the struggle for the mayoralty. Meanwhile, the other candidates struggle to make their place in this duel that has become central. For now, neither Cédric Vella, Céline Forjonnel or Estelle Jaquet had debate time… Speaking time will be granted to them in the coming days on Nice Premium.