Two cases have recently resurfaced in Nice as the 2014 municipal elections draw closer: That of Rue Trachel and that of the future East-West tramway line 2.
The redevelopment of Rue Trachel is part of the urban renewal of the Notre-Dame Thiers Vernier districts, with 70 million euros tied to the PNRQAD (National Program for the Requalification of Degraded Old Neighborhoods) at stake. Overall, this project is unanimously supported by residents and merchants. Regarding Rue Trachel, the discussion revolved around the buildings at 42 and 42 bis that were to be demolished and the garden of Colonel Jean-Pierre square, which was to be relocated a few meters away.
The mobilization of the residents, not without ulterior motives relayed by the municipal opposition parties, led the mayor to modify this part of the project, which will be submitted to the National Agency for Urban Renewal in the hope that the 70 million euros won’t disappear…
As for the future East-West tramway line 2, both proponents and opponents of the tramway metro are claiming victory. At City Hall, there’s no fundamental change to the project, but economic reality is pushing to modify the phasing. Thus, the underground section from Grosso to the port will indeed be dug, but the delivery in 2017 will stop at Jean Mรฉdecin. The arrival at the port is now planned for 2019 or 2020.
Political parties and the collective for an alternative line 2 are celebrating and interpreting this initial timetable modification as a first success.
These two cases raise the question of democratic practice within a city. The debate on a subject inevitably implies that it could be amended and modified. Political debate would gain credibility if it became more peaceful between a majority often caricatured as “stubborn” and deaf to citizen aspirations, and an opposition calling for consultation solely to score political points.
Let us hope these examples prompt a reflection on decision-making and the involvement of the people of Nice in our representative democracies aspiring to also become participatory.
Hervรฉ CAEL
