The Chamber of Commerce and Industry rewards the Trade Unions that bring the Côte d’Azur to life

On Monday, June 8, 2026, the awards ceremony for the Commercial Unions of the 06 took place at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nice. This ceremony was an opportunity to highlight various initiatives and distribute aid for their upcoming projects. The awarded cities were Antibes Juan-les-Pins, Saint-Paul de Vence, Cros-de-Cagnes, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Biot and Nice.

For the 3rd consecutive year, the CCI (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) presented the trophies of the Commercial Unions of the 06 to the most innovative commercial associations. The total support funds amounted to 51,000 €: 10,000 € for the Gold Category, 8,000 € for Silver and 5,000 € for Bronze. This recognition highlights “the mobilization of local actors and their essential role in the commercial attractiveness of the Côte d’Azur territory.”

The Commercial Unions of the 06

During the awards ceremony, each association was able to present its project before receiving its prize. The Association of Merchants and Craftspeople of Port Inland in Mandelieu, which had won bronze last year, reviewed their “Santa Claus of the Siagne” operation and stated that the prize allowed them to make their action sustainable and plan their future.

Gold category

Antibes (“Lucky Friday”): To counter a sales slump, the November 13-14 event focuses on responsible consumption because “this is not an operation against Black Friday, it’s a celebration of the city of Antibes”. Shops decorated in blue welcome a singing bicycle and an eco-responsible raffle, as the organizers explain: “we wanted to enhance the customer experience” to gain customers.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence (“Vintage Cars”): This project led by the town hall and the merchants’ association aims to transform the village into an open-air museum to discover it differently. The event offers a Provençal atmosphere with vintage car baptism rides to win, live-painting artists, pistou soup and a plant festival.

Silver category

Cros-de-Cagnes (“Le Cro en Scène”): This project offers three artistic dates with theater and music to attract an outside population to the shops. The main objective of this approach is clearly stated by the merchants’ association: “place culture at the center of our neighborhood”.

Villefranche-sur-Mer: For this project named “Villefranche to be Savored”, the municipality offers a gourmet stroll and transforms its spaces to become a true open-air restaurant. This action helps deal with the decline in activity because it is “difficult to survive the winter”.

Bronze category

Mandelieu (“Easter Egg Hunt of the Capitou”): This free event on April 25 brought together 800 people around the shops, with children’s games and chocolate collection. The event concluded with a large lottery and a decorated wheelbarrow race, leaving magical memories with participants: “it was truly magical”.

Biot (“The Nocturnes in Biot”): To boost commercial evenings around art and performances, the city launches a participatory concept every Thursday. Craftspeople offer initiations (wickerwork, bookbinding) and guided tours, as the organizers state: “this year we want the public to become actors”.

Nice (“Mobile Studio”): The Commerce Federation deploys an itinerant studio (Masséna, Garibaldi, Libération, Saint-Isidore) in order to “give voice to merchants”. This project of interviews and podcasts makes it possible to “highlight expertise through our associations” and to “create a true digital library”.

This edition of the trophies demonstrates both the creativity of the Commercial Unions and the challenges they continue to face. While the awarded projects testify to a real local dynamism, they also remind us that the commercial attractiveness of the territory rests on a fragile balance, between seasonality, visitor numbers and innovation capacity. By supporting these initiatives, the CCI encourages an essential economic vitality, while emphasizing that this collective work must continue to sustainably meet the needs of merchants and residents of the Côte d’Azur.