Christian Estrosi’s announcement of a possible delay—which within 24 hours became final—ignited a spark of controversy with the municipal opposition, which saw this decision as a crack in the policy of the Mayor of Nice and President of the Métropole.
Patrick Allemand immediately seized the opportunity, and after his real-time reaction, which we reported in our article yesterday, he organized a conference to strongly criticize his rival’s accusations against governmental policy and announce some initiatives.
“Christian Estrosi’s backflip is only the fifth since the tramway dossier began. Curiously, his latest project is none other than the one we proposed on April 7, 2009… without the tunnel. But I am certain that next time, he will also alter his idea on this subject; Have you already forgotten that he wanted to route the tramway on the Promenade, then place the terminus at the future intermodal center of Saint-Augustin without reaching Cadam and the airport…”.
As for the motivation used by the Mayor of Nice and President of the Métropole involving the freezing of state grants to justify another freeze, that of the portion of line 2 from Jean Médecin to the Port, the socialist leader is straightforward: “These are miserable and baseless excuses. First of all, one should not confuse grants and investments; the proof is the CDC’s financing of 264 million for this project that Mr. Estrosi announced himself last week, in addition to the 52 million directly provided by the State. Let’s be clear, the State has done more than its duty, even more than for the financing of line 1”.
To delve further into his point: “How can anyone say that a reduction of 3.5 million euros can block a project that will cost almost 800 million (note: Christian Estrosi announces a cost of 650 excluding tax)? Besides, Mr. Estrosi is well-versed in everything related to debt: in 5 years the debt of the Community and then the Métropole has risen from 337 to 1,083 million, so don’t tell us he can’t handle 3.5 million less!”
But here is Patrick Allemand’s bold move (surrounded by some municipal councillors of his party): “I consider the tunnel issue political, and I want a political decision to settle it. I will ask the Mayor to organize a local referendum so that the Niçois can decide. If this is refused, the opposition forces will organize a citizen initiative consultation* which will not have legal effect but will carry weight, as has happened in other cases, in the political debate”.
“After 4 years of delay caused by Christian Estrosi’s fumbling and his manifest incompetence in managing this dossier, the Niçois need to know that this flagship project of this term will not be realized due to his fault. Things need to be clear, and we must stop dithering and hiding behind this smokescreen that misleads the population,” concluded Patrick Allemand, more adamant than ever.
The day before yesterday, it was Christian against Patrick, yesterday it was Patrick against Christian…
As for tomorrow… Spring promises to be interesting…
