Closed for three years, the Bois de Boulogne garden in Nice remains inaccessible despite commitments to secure it. A citizens’ petition is demanding its immediate reopening. Residents are concerned about possible urbanization.
The Bois de Boulogne garden, located in Nice-West, has been closed since 2022. Officially, its closure followed nighttime gatherings and reported incidents of delinquency in the Moulins neighborhood. The departmental council of the Alpes-Maritimes, which owns the land, had promised security works. Announced cost: 200,000 euros. Three years later, the site remains closed off.
The park gate still displays signs indicating a video surveillance zone. But for the residents, nothing has changed. Neither the fences, nor the access, nor the uses. “This garden was our breathing space,” explains a resident. “Today, it is off-limits without any indication of when it will reopen.”
In this dense and popular neighborhood, the absence of a nearby green space impacts daily life. The Bois de Boulogne played a central role for families, the elderly, and children from nearby schools. These are the same residents who have launched a petition. It demands the immediate reopening of the garden. “It is unacceptable that the school children are deprived of this park which has always been the neighborhood’s garden,” reads the text of the petition.
Three years of closure, no visible progress
Since the Nice city hall withdrew from managing the site in February 2022, responsibilities have been interwoven and passed back and forth. The city accuses the department of slowness. The department, for its part, criticizes the city for abandoning its role. At the heart of this standoff: a political opposition between the allies of Christian Estrosi and those of Éric Ciotti.
To justify the lack of progress on the project, the departmental council mentioned a future landscaping aimed at the students of the surrounding schools. But no timeline has been communicated. This uncertainty fuels fears of a change in the site’s purpose. Rumors speak of an extension of the neighboring administrative complex. The petition warns: “We oppose any urbanization of this park.”
The neighborhood association, parent groups, and residents are mobilizing. They demand that commitments be honored and that the park reopen its gates. The issue goes beyond a simple garden: it touches on the quality of life in a neighborhood where public spaces are rare and precious.
As of today, no official reopening date has been set.
