In Nice, the debate on total free admission and the removal of fences during the carnival relaunched again

As the stands for the Nice carnival begin to be set up on the famous Place Masséna, a left-wing citizen collective launched a petition on Tuesday to demand that this event be completely free and the fences surrounding the area be removed. In recent years, this debate has been relaunched while the municipality each time recalls the significant security constraints surrounding the carnival, which attracts more than 200,000 visitors over the entire fortnight.

The Viva! gathering, close to La France insoumise, accuses the town hall of Christian Estrosi (Horizons) of having “privatized and bunkerized this annual festive event”against the “Nice tradition of a popular and untimely, even transgressive festival”write the activists in their online petition, an opinion nevertheless increasingly shared on social networks during previous editions.

Black fences surround the entire Place Masséna during the festivities, preventing access and visibility of the parades and flower fights. People try, as best they can at each edition, to still see the tanks.

Free if disguised

In addition to targeting this device which “cuts the city in two”this citizen collective denounces “access which is overwhelmingly paid” and asks for total gratuity. The municipality replies that the carnival is already free, especially the corsos, provided you come fully disguised. Tickets range from 7 euros for a free place to 31 euros for a seated place.

Faced with these repeated criticisms, the city of Nice strives to defend an increasingly popular and intergenerational carnival, by also offering festivities in the different neighborhoods. A new stand had also been installed on the Promenade des Anglais and the barriers were removed last year to allow spectators to mingle with the parades.

Concerning this online petition, which at this stage has 1000 signatures, the first deputy in charge of security, Anthony Borré, recalled on the local channel of BFMTV the context of a terrorist threat always present around major events and in particular in Nice, a city already hit twice by attacks. The black fences of more than 2.50 meters were installed in 2016, after the attack of November 13, 2015 in Paris.

While the detailed program will soon be presented, the first deputy suggested that the organization was considering a large parade on the main avenue Jean-Médecin, which will also depend on the security risks assessed by the prefecture services. The 140^e edition, from February 12 to March 2, will celebrate a king of the oceans, a theme chosen this year in connection with the holding of the United Nations summit on this subject in June. The Nice carnival remains one of the most famous in the world alongside those of Rio and Venice and generates significant economic benefits estimated at nearly 35 million euros by the community, which took over the event in 2019. .