The project for line 2 of the tramway remains one of the hot topics in Nice’s political debate.
Even though everyone agrees on its necessity (given the traffic situation on the roads, it is simply indispensable), the underground section has never been accepted by Patrick Allemand, who has employed numerous ways to thwart this option.
The mention of geological risks (which certainly exist but are technically manageable) was not enough to denounce this choice.
His efforts thwarted by an overwhelming municipal majority, all that was left for him was to attack the financial aspect: of course, digging a tunnel is more expensive than working on the surface. But here too, he was met with an economic model prediction that would make the operation profitable.
And then, when there is political will… you can make the numbers say whatever you want!
And this political will exists and is on display: Christian Estrosi wants to inaugurate “his” tramway before the elections in 2020, and to do even better, he will even add a line 3 to reach the stadium and smooth out access difficulties to the stadium and the new district (Ikea) that will be built around it.
Patrick Allemand suspects a manipulation of the numbers in terms of accounting allocation: fewer of these costs attributed to line 2 and more to the future line 3. To support this hypothesis, he refers to the acknowledged skills of the president of the finance committee, Philippe Pradal, whom he labels as a “wizard” of numbers (which must flatter the professional pride of the latter, a highly appreciated chartered accountant).
We understand his stance because when you’re in the opposition, you’re looking for the opponent’s mistake.
But this debate will only be an unnecessary verbal exchange because this “sleight of hand,” even if proven, would not change the core issue: in fact, while the provisional budget is important for making a decision based on its suitability, it is the final bill that will reveal if the cost is as expected and, if not, the reason or reasons why.
In any case, we are already savoring the niceties between the two parties during this morning’s session.
