Ten days after Storm Aline, Nice Côte d’Azur metropolitan area is being criticized for its poor management of post-Alex reconstruction efforts in the Vésubie and Tinée valleys.
The atmosphere is icier than ever between Éric Ciotti and Christian Estrosi. After Storm Aline passed through the Vésubie valley on October 20, all eyes turned to the material damage caused by the weather phenomenon, as there were no human casualties. Specifically, attention focused on the temporary structures built after Storm Alex by the Nice Côte d’Azur metropolis, which were damaged and swept away by the force of the waters.
An internal document revealed by Mediapart and Le Figaro on October 26 raises questions about the management of post-Alex reconstruction efforts by Christian Estrosi, president of the NCA metropolis. The document reportedly is a record of decisions from the metropolis’s general management committee dated September 20, 2022. It allegedly states: “Blockage. We won’t have the money” followed by “CE (Christian Estrosi, editor’s note) arbitration: maintain very strong pressure, stop all work. They will resume as soon as we have received state funding.”
The deputy from the Azurean region and leader of the Republicans had already expressed his concerns about this issue on multiple occasions. This time, he relies on this internal note to confirm what he already suspected and questions his best rival, Christian Estrosi, accusing him of intentionally halting work in the Vésubie and Tinée valleys to pressure the state into providing funding.
In an interview with Nice-Matin, the elected representative from Saint-Martin-Vésubie denounces a “real scandal” and says about Christian Estrosi: “Let him take responsibility. And let him rectify his mistakes.”
At a press conference on October 26, Éric Ciotti and Charles Ange Ginésy announced the release of an exceptional aid of 15 million euros for post-Aline reconstruction assistance. They proposed allocating more than half of the emergency fund, specifically 8 million euros to Smiage, thus helping the metropolis responsible for reconstructing the banks. Both the deputy and the president of the department referred to this as a “gesture of solidarity” to “face any difficulties MNCA might encounter.”
The NCA metropolis denies any intentional halt of the work
The metropolis and its president refute these accusations. They attribute the delay in work to administrative blockages and an ongoing judicial investigation into alleged malfeasance in some construction sites.
In a lengthy statement published on her account X, the second deputy mayor of Nice and vice-president of the NCA metropolis, Anne Ramos Mazzuco, denounces “shameful attacks” and a “sad spectacle.” “Such attitudes eventually disillusion people with politics,” she exclaims. She adds: “The complexity of the subject deserves very precise, factual, and dispassionate explanations. And mostly decoupled from personal disputes that disgust everyone. But some choose important topics like these to, each day, like episodes from a bad series, bring new controversies, intentionally distorting reality.”
She notably reminds that the metropolis has committed 226 million euros for post-Alex reconstruction. The metropolis and its president have announced plans to file a libel suit against Mediapart.
