In the districts of Old Nice and the Port, there are few who have not crossed paths with him at least once, and therefore remember him because when you meet Marc Concas from Cours Saleya to la promenade de la Réserve, he is rarely forgotten.
This lawyer from Nice, who has the distinction of the leaders of his party – engaging in politics as a couple – is the general councilor in charge of managing two of the most emblematic districts of the city of Nice. Appreciated by his peers, he is no less appreciated by his “opponents” who according to many opinions, would be fortunate to have him join their coalition of ideas.
But true to himself, Marco, as friends call him, likes to do his job well without that excessive ambition that sometimes hinders the way politics are practiced. This is neither at the national level nor even at the local level that facts could contradict this.
Reasonable and reasoned thus, Mr. Concas is terribly effective on his own ground since after the charter against noise pollution, there are two major cases he is currently working on: a parking under the Château hill and a new port near the airport. He will also revisit one of the iconic beaches of the residents of Old Nice and the Port, the lovely Païola.
Master, you have the floor…
Nice Première: Marc Concas, in your latest newsletter you talked about a parking under the Château hill, can you tell us more about this subject?
Marc Concas: Parking is one of the major issues of the Old Nice and Port district.
The parking lots of Old Nice (Corvesy, Saleya, Place du Palais, and Promenade du Paillon) have capacities that are no longer sufficient. They are too often full.
The problem is even more acute for the Port district, which has no large parking facilities, except for the port’s quays and the Infernet parking, which is also saturated.
The current city council, trapped in its unfulfilled promise of a parking under the Place Ile de Beauté, is unable to offer a coherent alternative solution. Meetings of the Environmental Consultative Commission have been ongoing for 3 years, and we are still waiting for a project.
Faced with this double difficulty, I have proposed the creation of a parking under the hill of the Château, similar to what the Principality of Monaco has beautifully achieved under its Rock.
I have already discussed this file with the services of the Architecte des Bâtiments de France, a key interlocutor in matters of listed sites. There appears to be no obstacle to this type of realization.
My project is in line with the future tram line 2 which must serve the port and airport districts starting from Place Ile de Beauté.
NP: Do you think that this project could see the light of day and within what timeframe?
MC: Only the initiation of studies will confirm the technical feasibility of this essential structure, its cost, and the number of spaces that can be created. The timeframes will depend on the results of the studies.
NP: You are also an ardent supporter of a port off the airport’s coast. Why this stance?
MC: During the Public Debate on the expansion project of the port of NICE, I had supported, along with the Defense Committee of the Port District, the idea of a new port off the coast of NICE airport that could accommodate commercial activities (Corsica/Continent traffic, freight, and cruises).
The idea was attractive as it had the merit of decongesting the Port district and maintaining in the current basin, the activities of pleasure boating and yachting, which suffer from the competition of the ports in Cannes and Monaco. Just days before the opening of the Public Debate, I had traveled to Genoa with Patrick Allemand to appreciate on site the coherence of a port near an airport.
Our Italian counterparts confirmed without any ambiguity the feasibility of this type of structure, and I was able to witness its effectiveness on site.
Based on this analysis, I presented this project in a public session of the Commission du Débat Public, and on this occasion, Patrick Allemand confirmed the agreement of the PACA Region for the financing of feasibility studies for this new port.
Events remained there until the promulgation of the new Decentralization Law and the project for the transfer of the property of the port of NICE.
Having taken note of the General Council’s application for the property transfer, I immediately addressed its President with a request for the launch of studies in April 2004.
He responded positively to my request.
It was during the plenary session on June 26, 2006, dedicated to the budget debate on decision modification #1 that I publicly relaunched the question of establishing a port off the NICE airport coast. The President of the General Council agreed with my analysis and confirmed the launch of studies, the results of which will be known at the end of the summer.
NP: Finally, would you like to share your thoughts on the “beach” at Païole de Nice?
MC: I have already expressed my concern about the future of the Paiole beach, a concern that resulted from the position adopted by the NICE City Hall during the plenary session of the Environmental Consultative Commission on December 13, 2005.
This Commission met in plenary session on June 1, 2006, and after having requested that the Paiole file be placed on the agenda, I once again addressed the elected officials of the current municipal majority about the future of this beach.
The response was unequivocal: the City Hall refuses to make Paiole a real beach. There will be no replenishment with pebbles nor any supervision of the area.
However, during the same plenary session, Prof. Meinesz, a renowned scientist, confirmed that the replenishment of the Paiole Beach was perfectly possible.
The response from the city officials was final: the Paiole is not a beach.
Faced with this stubborn refusal to preserve a site highly appreciated by the people of Nice, I contacted the services of the General Council in its capacity as the future owner of the Port of Nice, hoping that the Department can remedy the serious deficiency of the current municipality on this matter.
