A ban on large cruise ships in the southern French port city of Nice will now not go ahead after local consultations changed the local mayor’s mind, but the U-turn has caused almost as much controversy as the original plan.
Mayor Christian Estrosi had previously used a New Year address to criticise the vast super cruisers that deliver thousands of day visitors to the French Riviera and cause pollution and overcrowding. “I don’t want these floating hotels putting down their anchors in Nice,” he said in January. “These cruises that pollute, that pour out their low-cost customers who do not consume anything and who leave their rubbish behind them, well I say these cruises don’t have a place here.”
À Nice, nous disons stop aux monstres des mers : ces villes flottantes ultra-polluantes, moteurs allumés, symboles d’un surtourisme qui ne profite pas à notre territoire. Nous privilégions les unités de moins de 190m, à motorisation 0 soufre, et respectueuses de leur… pic.twitter.com/YTPqM2aKM0
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) January 21, 2025
His words were followed by a plan for a byelaw that would have seen ships over 190m long and with a capacity exceeding 900 passengers banned from docks in Nice and its eastern neighbour Villefranche-sur-Mer from 1 July 2025.
A reconciliation or an “insult”?
The move, however, caused consternation among local businesses, resulting in a watered down version of the rules. After consultation with local stakeholders, changes have been made in order “to reconcile the issues of public health, environmental protection and support for the local economy”, Estrosi said.
Under the latest plan an adjustment allows one ship accommodating up to 2,500 people to dock at any one time in Villefranche-sur-Mer, and no more than 65 of them annually. Meanwhile, the docks in Nice will only allow cruise ships carrying 450 passengers or fewer.
Croisières : pour les géants des mers, c’est toujours non ! 🚫
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) March 1, 2025
👉 À @VilledeNice, max 450 passagers par bateau (contre 900 avant).
👉 À @Villefranche06, 300 jours sans bateaux, et max 1 bateau par jour sur 65 jours (au lieu de 2, voire plus avant)
👉 Fini les monstres de 5000…
But though businesses are happier, with one restaurant telling Nice Matin that its clientele doubles when cruise ships are in town, local ecologists are furious. Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, councillor and ecologist group president called the reversed decision an “insult to the protection of our natural heritage and a sacrifice of our quality of life on the altar of a few short-term economic interests.”
No more engines running in port
The new measures will be put to the vote on 7 March 2025, in time for a season that is set for nearly 90 cruise ships at Villefranche-sur-Mer this year, including around 20 with more than 2,500 passengers, and 125 cruise ships in Nice, according to port authority data reported by AFP.
If the ruling is passed, works will have to be carried out at the docks to enable the ships to connect to electricity, in line with Estrosi’s determination that no more engines should remain running while in port.
The French Mediterranean is not the only coastal destination where cruise ship tourism is increasingly divisive and other resorts will be watching closely. Despite the economic boost they bring to places as far and wide as Alaska, Barcelona, Greece, and the Great Barrier Reef, cruises have also been blamed for pollution and unsustainable visitor numbers.
