MIPIM is to real estate and the world of buildings, of major metropolises what the Cannes Film Festival is to cinema. Same location (the Palais des Festivals in Cannes) and same reputation. Those who have business there or wish to have some must be present, either as simple visitors or exhibitors. The booths double in prestige and their hostesses in grace with canapés and champagne flutes as a luxurious decorative complement. In the aisles, no two languages sound alike. English, German, and Russian are recognizable. Others appear as dialects perceived for the first time by our ears. All major cities or metropolises have reserved a more or less vast space where for three days they promote themselves. Rome, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Singapore, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Lisbon, Saint Petersburg, Moscow… But also Toulouse, Marseille, and Nice or rather the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Community.
Late in the afternoon, the Senator Mayor of Nice and president of the CANCA took his place behind the podium and microphones. He spoke to express how wonderful his city is and, more importantly, to present the Nice Méridia project and more broadly on the development of the Plaine du Var. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has just confirmed the commitment of a National Interest Operation for the Plaine du Var (see PS). Jacques Peyrat emphasized the image of Nice he wishes to change: “It is often considered that tourism is, traditionally, the main wealth of Nice and the Riviera. Tourism and the environment remain a benchmark value of our region. But this image is reductive and deserves to be changed. The goal is to affirm for the Nice Côte d’Azur its role as the economic metropolis of the Alpes-Maritimes. Gathering you (addressing the economic partners) is a sign that our territory and its institutions will accompany investors and entrepreneurs who wish to combine the performance of companies with the quality of an environment envied around the world.”
He then presented the credentials of the “Nice Côte d’Azur” product: ideal geographical position, the second largest airport in France, 210,000 workers, 45,000 businesses, 35,000 students, the practice of high technologies in the field of medicine, the tramway coming soon, Azurea, Nice Plaza, the Multiplex… There was no mistaking it: the aim was to seduce or even sell to claim the ambition of having an economic development of global influence.
The Plaine du Var project was discussed with its 2500 hectares shared by sixteen municipalities. Nice Méridia is detailed: 200,000 m² of office space, activity, teaching and research facilities, housing, shops, and services. To make the Senator Mayor’s speech more vivid, an interactive virtual model and a volumetric model of the Nice Méridia project were presented. They helped to better visualize the new investment opportunities and the standards brought to this qualitative program. Everything concluded with a cocktail reception. In conclusion, Jacques Peyrat did not forget to mention Nice’s bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2013, asking his listeners to support it.
