The administrative court of Nice has overturned a decision to ban large cruise ships in Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, stating that the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, did not have the authority to introduce such restrictions.
At the beginning of the year, Estrosi announced a ban on cruise ships from July 1. Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Sea docked in the region, resulting in Estrosi boarding a police boat in a failed attempt to force the ship to leave.
According to Travel Market Report, he reissued the ban to start from July 11, limiting ships to 450 passengers in Nice and 2 500 passengers in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
The Prefet of the Alpes-Maritimes challenged Estrosi’s ban. The court determined that Estrosi did not have authority to implement the ban and that only the Prefet of the Alpes-Maritimes, within the framework to police waters, could organise the entry, exit and movement of ships.
