Duel Estrosi – Ciotti: let’s stay serious until the end

There are political disputes that tire people out. And then there are those that exhaust them. In Nice, the permanent confrontation between Christian Estrosi and Éric Ciotti now belongs to this second category. A rivalry that has become mechanical, almost Pavlovian: each statement calls for a response, each announcement triggers a counter-attack. Press conferences, dedicated websites, rankings brandished as irrefutable proof. Meanwhile, Nice residents watch this spectacle with a mixture of fatigue and bewilderment.

Yet the first weeks of campaigning had made room for arguments. Projects took precedence over insults. Then the debate shifted toward an OK Corral-style settling of scores. Let us recall that the candidates signed a “charter of mutual respect” in early December, committing not to hinder journalistic work and not to knowingly spread false information.

We will skip over the episode of the medical certificate, which fed the controversy more than substantive debate and further muddied the clarity of this campaign.

Yesterday, Christian Estrosi’s team launched a new initiative: the website Éric Ciotti’s Black Record, presented as a “documented” analysis of his tenure as head of the department. Rising taxes, increasing debt, rollback of social policies, disengagement from Nice: the criticisms are numerous and are based, according to its authors, on public data.

On the other side, Éric Ciotti’s camp replied without delay. In a statement, it denounces a city “badly managed”, a mayor “ranked 45th out of 49” in the latest rankings by Challenges and BDO, and a municipality that “prioritizes communication at the expense of concrete results.” Here too, backed by figures: declining attractiveness, weakened finances, unmet expectations of families and working-class neighborhoods.

Two diagnoses. Two narratives. Two visions. And in the middle, a city that deserves better than a permanent duel.

Because behind this battle of records, Nice residents disappear. Families looking for affordable housing. Entrepreneurs waiting for reliable infrastructure. Neighborhoods demanding solid public services. Tourism actors worried about the territory’s attractiveness. By constantly responding to each other, the two protagonists seem to forget that Nice is not a boxing ring.

It is time to move beyond this political drama that goes round and round. It mainly feeds France’s leading party: abstention. Nice residents expect neither loaded websites nor rankings brandished like sentences. They expect clear, reasoned, transparent debate. A debate where each person presents their vision, priorities, and commitments — and where residents can compare and decide.

This is why we will launch in the coming days a series of interviews with all candidates who wish to speak in our pages. The same questions for everyone without filter or staging. So that the people of Nice can finally hear something other than the noise of quarreling. To judge based on facts. And so that democratic debate can reclaim its rightful place.