A French court has suspended a measure made by the mayor of Nice to limit the number of large cruise ships from docking in its port, aiming to tackle pollution and overtourism.
Mayor Christian Estrosi issued a municipal order on 9 July to ban cruise ships carrying more than 450 passengers in Nice and limiting the number of ships carrying more than 2,500 passengers in the Villefranche-sur-Mer bay to 65 per year and no more than one per day.
Estrosi cited "the climate emergency, the protection of marine biodiversity, the promotion of sensible tourism and the protection of (our) heritage".
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At the end of June, Cannes, another major city on France's Mediterranean coast, also decided to limit the number of cruise ships in its bay by authorising only one of them carrying more than 3,000 people to dock each day, and never two at the same time.
But a French administrative court in Nice ruled that the mayor of Nice was "not competent to issue such measures" and that only the police chief of the Alpes-Maritimes region could "organise the entry, exit and movement of ships".
'Harmful effects of mega cruise ships'
In a press release, Estrosi stressed the need to "protect the health of local residents" and threatened "to hold the State responsible" if no measures were taken "within a reasonable timeframe to prevent the harmful effects" of mega cruise ships.
Estrosi announced at the end of January this year that he planned to ban cruise ships exceeding 190 metres in length and carrying more than 900 passengers in Nice and the Villefranche-sur-Mer bay, but then backed down.
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This announcement provoked "stupefaction" of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and an outcry from elected representatives in several harbour's towns, seafaring professionals, shopkeepers and taxis.
(With newswires)
