Reconstruction fund for Storm Alex, grant for the conversion of combustion vehicles to bioethanol…
Here are the main points from the latest metropolitan council meeting on Friday, March 11.
Storm Alex: Reconstruction Fund
In the aim of rebuilding the damage caused by the storm, Emmanuel Macron chose to establish an exceptional fund of 150 million euros. The metropolitan area has already presented the first four projects that have received favorable responses. Consequently, 26.9 million euros will be allocated notably for protection works on the banks at Saint Martin Vésubie and Roquebillière, as well as roadworks on the routes of Madone des Fenestres, Boréon, and Colmiane.
Mobility aid and bioethanol
The metropolitan council has voted to implement a mobility voucher of 20€ per month per person for a duration of six months for the most modest households forced to drive to work.
It is “in an international context of soaring fossil fuel prices,” as announced by Christian Estrosi, that a grant for the conversion of combustion vehicles to bioethanol is being implemented. Bioethanol is indeed a more ecological and economical alternative, the only drawback being the installation cost of the bioethanol kit for gasoline vehicles, which can be up to 1200€. Therefore, the metropolitan area will provide an aid of 300€ for households whose taxable income is a maximum of 60,000€. This aid will be cumulative with the region’s aid of 500€.
The only opponents of this measure: the group of ecologists who believe that priority should be given to households that need it the most, hence lowering the taxable income threshold to 30,000€. The president of the metropolitan area regretted having “the least eco-friendly ecologists in France” in Nice.
Future exhibition and convention center
The council members voted for the public company Côte d’Azur Aménagement to carry out the development of the exhibition and convention center and its surrounding public spaces, including a landscaped park.
The metropolitan area’s participation in phase 1 of the project, amounting to 400,000€, was also approved, a decision contested by the opposition. Juliette Chesnel Leroux, ecologist councillor, indeed regretted that the future exhibition and convention center will be exactly what Acropolis is currently; only it will be outside the city. She thus deems the destruction unnecessary and even describes it as “financial waste and an ecological nonsense.”
