While the demolition permit for the TNN was approved during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, January 20, elected officials from all sides and residents of Nice gathered at the Belmondo cinema for a debate concerning the demolition of Acropolis and the TNN. A one-sided debate: everyone is united against this demolition project.
This Thursday afternoon, the Club de la Presse 06 gathered at the Belmondo cinema with a few elected officials and detractors of the project voted on by municipal officials a month ago: to demolish the TNN and Acropolis to extend the green corridor.
Some seven guests then took turns explaining why they oppose it, and to their left, an empty chair intended for Christian Estrosi, who was also invited to participate. The mayor did not attend the debate, believing he had already given all the arguments for implementing this project. A one-sided debate indeed, as no opposition was present, something that a resident of Nice criticized during the question and answer session with the seven guests.
The seven guests took turns presenting their arguments against this project, in front of an almost full room of people from Nice who seemed to share their opinion as well.
“The media needs to say it: it’s not over, everything is still possible!”, said Patrick Allemand from the Nice au Cœur association and former vice-president of the region.
“Destroying the TNN disfigures the work of the promenade des arts, it destroys this wonderful idea of bringing together the performing arts with the fine arts, […] it destroys culture,” Martine Bayard, daughter of Yves Bayard, the architect of the TNN and the Mamac, began to lament.
Meanwhile, Michel Cova, a Lyon-based engineer, stated that extending the green corridor over the Paillon will not allow for new trees to be planted and thus will not “cool the neighborhood,” as Christian Estrosi wishes. Eco-councilor Hélène Granouillac continued by proposing an alternative plan. Instead of demolishing the TNN, the city’s Green Party wants, among other things, to renovate it, green the facades, install solar panels on its roof, and connect it to the green corridor with a footbridge.
Patrick Allemand, who has also launched a petition to save the TNN, denounces what he calls a “completely suicidal timing that will sink an entire section of our local economy,” as the delivery of a new theater is only scheduled for 2028 and the demolition of the TNN is planned for this year.
Auguste Vérola, vice-president of the department, mentioned the 9 million euro subsidy granted by the departmental council for the project, a subsidy later withdrawn. He tries to explain: “When we granted 9 million euros of support, we did not know it was for demolition.”
Finally, Rassemblement National elected official Philippe Vardon concluded by stating that we must continue to act in all directions, including legal, associative, and cultural arenas. “If we don’t succeed, I’ll meet you in front of the bulldozers. I’ll be there with my elected official’s scarf,” he concluded.
