“Welcome to the opening of the campaign headquarters”: the speech begins soberly. It continues by presenting the priorities of candidate Icart. Gone is the slogan “My label is Nice”. In 2007 it’s “Nice Winning”. And, obviously, for Jean Icart, the people of Nice would have everything to gain by electing him as mayor. He declares his main prerogative while taking a swipe at the current Mayor: “I would be a full-time mayor. I would be on-site and fully dedicated to my role. We’ve experienced a parliamentary mayor who has to be in the Senate two days a week. With the parliamentary schedule that Nicolas Sarkozy is going to impose, a mayor also in parliament will be even busier.” He wants to be the Mayor of Nice, 150% present for the people of Nice. He refers to Jean and Jacques Médecin for their good sides: “People need to feel connected to the mayor. There needs to be an emotional relationship with the people of Nice. I am passionate about Nice.”
Just as Jean Icart doesn’t hesitate to criticize Jacques Peyrat ever since they parted ways due to disagreements while Jean Icart was a city councilor (“He only cared about himself”), he equally praises the qualities of Christian Estrosi, President of the General Council: “I support him in his actions. We cannot collaborate with Jacques Peyrat, but we can with Christian Estrosi.” He is convinced that Christian Estrosi will not run in the local elections in Nice, even though rumors suggest otherwise. Jean Icart relies on statements by the President of the General Council: “Christian Estrosi said he detests rumors. So do I. He also said he was the mayor of the Alpes-Maritimes department, so why would he settle for just being the Mayor of Nice?”
He makes a play on words to discuss Christian Estrosi’s government position: “Can he be mayor and oversee Overseas?” He even hopes for his support. He highlights his work accomplished at the General Council as president of the transport commission and shared views on many subjects: “When he made his proposals for the Port of Nice, it’s almost a copy-paste of my project. I offer him a serious solution for opening up and breaking away from what we’ve been living through for far too long in Nice.” A meeting between the two men will take place very soon. Jean Icart will then have the opportunity to present his battery of arguments to convince him to lend his support.
The proposals of Jean Icart:
“Privilege Card”: a card will be given to residents of Nice. It will allow them to get discounts on cultural events such as the Nice Jazz Festival. Thanks to this card, the highway will be free.
“Parking”: “The Tram has eliminated 1600 parking spaces and there has not been any construction of parking facilities in 15 years.
“Highway”: Free access for residents of Nice to alleviate the congestion in central Nice, as according to Jean Icart many residents avoid using the northern bypass route due to tolls.
“Port of Nice”: Jean Icart wants to return it to the people of Nice by adding more terraces and businesses.
“Tram Line 2”: Jean Icart is not in favor of constructing a Line 2 of the Tram that would run from Cagnes-sur-Mer to the Port. He would prefer to promote the SNCF line that already crosses Nice from west to east.
