The announcement by the Mayor of Nice to propose the Promenade of Nice, a symbolic emblem of the city, for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage site has not left indifferent his political opponents. Here is an initial reaction from Gaël Nofri, Mission Officer for the Rassemblement Bleu Marine for Nice and its Metropolis.
Christian Estrosi is brimming with inventiveness and he proves it. The Mayor of Nice indeed seems to be under the influence of whims, eccentric and temporary, but unfortunately sometimes quite harmful, which he tries to impose on the residents of Nice.
We knew about the Tramway on the Promenade des Anglais, the underground Tramway, the Town Hall at the Palais Masséna, the Urban Planning Forum, the Funicular of the Observatory, the Winter Olympics… and now we have the “classification of the Promenade des Anglais as a UNESCO World Heritage site”!
At first glance, such a project has something to seduce: Protecting and enhancing the Promenade des Anglais—who could say better? One might even suppose that the Mayor proposes this to protect against a future city executive who might one day have the strange idea to disfigure the said Promenade, for example, by running a Tramway through it!
Unfortunately, the reality is quite different because this announcement has no other purpose than to sound the death knell for another, much more real and important project: the necessary renovation of the Promenade des Anglais and the Quai des États-Unis. Because the site does not need a timid facelift but a deep, courageous, and ambitious reflection.
If the Promenade des Anglais unquestionably belongs to the Heritage of Nice, and beyond, it must first and foremost be designed as a living place, integrated into the city, able to reconcile the challenges of the future of the Azur region.
In July last year, I tried to alert the general public about the risks posed by the lack of real ambitions from the city for this remarkable space; yet, concealed behind flattering terms and scholarly institutions, it is indeed about abandonment here…
Whim of a man or communication strategy intended to mask yet another retreat, everyone will form their own opinion!
