Visiting Lycée Masséna this morning, Christian Estrosi participated in the inauguration of the new boarding house. By 2030, the high school will undergo a comprehensive overhaul as part of the SUD region’s commitment to modernizing its educational institutions.
Back to school means new facilities. In the heart of Nice, Lycée Masséna is getting a facelift. Listed as a historic monument since 2017, this high school is at the heart of a major renovation project launched by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) Region in 2020. With 1,800 students from secondary through preparatory classes, it is one of the most important high schools in Nice.
“This 2026 – 2027 school year represents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this brand new boarding house, in a high school that is particularly close to my heart as a Nice native,” rejoices Christian Estrosi, delegated president of the SUD Region.
Started three years earlier, the boarding house construction project is nearing completion. This will be followed by energy and functional rehabilitation of the entire institution. The end of this overall upgrade is scheduled for 2030.
The boarding house at the center of the project
For the 2026 – 2027 school year, around a hundred rooms have been rehabilitated. All are single or double and measure between eight and ten square meters. Inside, space is optimized. In double rooms the bed is bunk-style. Each room has one or more desks as well as storage.
As for sanitary facilities, a bathroom is systematically present between two rooms. This private bathroom is only accessible to the boarding students in these two rooms.
For Philippe Tamisier, principal of the institution, “the renovation of this part of the boarding house was essential. This section will be exclusively reserved for first-year preparatory class students. For them, having quality rooms to prepare for their exams is essential to their success.”
Another new boarding building, which can accommodate about thirty students, is also under construction. The boarding house renovation work represents a cost of 8.9 million euros for the Region. This total will rise to 50 million euros in 2030, when all renovations at Lycée Masséna will have been completed.
On the agenda: renovation of floors and ceilings, insulation, educational equipment in classrooms as well as accessibility measures for all users.
This transformation began with building 4 of Lycée Masséna, which will be ready by February 2027. For Christian Estrosi, there is no rushing things: “We are trying as much as possible to make this work imperceptible to students, in order to guarantee peace and quiet in classrooms. These projects are moving forward little by little, and are mainly being realized during vacation periods, when students are away.”
A comprehensive educational project
This visit was also an opportunity for Christian Estrosi to implement the new educational decisions for the school year, including the ban on smartphones in educational institutions.
The outgoing mayor of the city of Nice participated in the distribution of tablets to students in class 7. An opportunity for him to remind students that “with this tablet, nobody has a good reason to take out their phone in the classroom anymore.“
Finally, in his speech, Christian Estrosi emphasized the commitment of the SUD Region to support transportation and school cafeteria services for high school students. Emphasis was also placed on security, with a brand new security checkpoint system at the entrance to the region’s institutions, which should be introduced by 2028.
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