The Urban Community of Nice Côte d’Azur is no more. Enter CUNCA. Its President, the deputy-mayor of the azurean capital, Christian Estrosi, welcomed the birth of the project. He had barely assumed his municipal duties when he was already proposing the creation of an Urban Community to replace the CANCA. Ratified on June 26, 2008, the mayor’s proposal thus came to life seven months after its initial steps. “It was a race against time. It’s a real change in category. We are crossing a threshold and joining the largest French metropolises. I have great ambitions for the future,” confessed Christian Estrosi. Just a few days ago, there were only fourteen Urban Communities in France. At the start of this year, there are now sixteen, since Grand Toulouse has also been established. “It had been ten years since any had been created,” commented Alain Marleix, Secretary of State for the Interior and Territorial Communities.
Greater Resources
Before January 1, 2009, the scope of CANCA was already quite broad. The institution managed services (transport, waste, water, sanitation, etc.). Human and technical resources were pooled to carry out equipment work and to bring about social balance. Now, the objectives remain the same, but on a larger scale and with greater effort.
Christian Estrosi wants to establish a connection between the 24 municipalities of Nice Côte d’Azur. Therefore, a local hub has been created with the implementation of a “Hello City Hall” phone line, available 24/7. All residents will be able to ask questions about their city. The second objective, significant in size, is the issue of roadways. “We clearly have a backlog to catch up on, particularly in Nice. We need to make the city more beautiful and cleaner,” admits the mayor.
Several Strengths
The goal of this CUNCA is clearly to increase the power of action to, on one hand, make everyday life more pleasant and, on the other hand, to invest and bring capital into the Alpes-Maritimes. “Nice is exemplary. The department is capable of attracting foreign investors,” points out Alain Marleix. “We are going to elevate the city to stand alongside the major European cities,” adds Christian Estrosi. For this, the new Urban Community has new assets. State grants have increased and investment capacities until 2014 will reach 350 million euros. The efficiency in public services increases with more than a thousand agents transferred to Nice before 250, again, before summer.
Coaraze, the Speck of Sand in the Gears
The Urban Community has been created, but Coaraze, a small village located 25 kilometers from Nice in the hinterland, feels slighted. It believes it is a victim of Christian Estrosi’s will, who created CUNCA before the end of 2008 to receive additional governmental grants. Coaraze wanted to leave CANCA to join the community of municipalities of Pays des Paillons. Coaraze accuses the prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Francis Lamy, of integrating its inhabitants to reach the necessary 500,000 for the creation of the Urban Community. The mayor, Monique Giraud Lazzari, will resort to legal action. In short, there are already complications.
