A ban on large cruise ships is reportedly being sought by the mayor of Nice in a bid to cut an influx of “low-cost” tourists to the city on the French Riviera.
Christian Estrosi was said to be planning a bylaw banning ships more than 190m long and with a capacity of more than 900 passengers from docking in Nice and neighbouring Villefranche-sur-Mer in the Cote d’Azur from next summer.
He was quoted by The Times as saying: “I don’t want these floating hotels putting down their anchors in Nice.
“These cruises that pollute [and] 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.”
He claimed that the move would lead to a 70% fall in the number of passengers arriving on cruises.
“At the moment, we have [ships] that are real floating towns with more than 5,000 passengers,” Estrosi reportedly said.
“These [ships] do not correspond in any way to the tourist model that we want to develop.”
Environmentalists backed the proposal but alarmed shopkeepers and restaurant owners who fear a loss of custom.
Nice is the latest European city to seek restrictions on big ships in the wake of Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Palma.
Highlighting planning restrictions that have limited construction along the French Riviera, Estrosi was quoted as saying: “We have prevented concrete from smothering Nice, we are not going to let overtourism smother it in turn.”
Estrosi is said to have taken inspiration for the decree from Venice where similar restrictions have been imposed.
“Venice has regained its beauty and its landscape by having a mayor who definitively refuses cruises. We intend to go in this direction, too,” he said in comments to the local French media.