Nice Mayor Proposes Ban on Cruise Ships in Côte d’Azur Region

The Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has announced plans to ban cruise ships from the Nice-Côte d’Azur region starting July 1, 2025, according to multiple French media reports.

During a meeting with his supporters on January 20, Estrosi expressed his concerns about the environmental and economic impact of cruise ships. He referred to them as vessels that “pollute and dump their low-cost clients” into local ports, stating that such ships “have no place in the French region.”

In a strong critique of cruise tourism, Estrosi, who is also the president of the Nice-Côte d’Azur region, claimed that passengers contribute little to local economies, saying they “consume nothing in the cities and only leave their waste behind.”

As reported by Monaco Life, the proposed law would prohibit large ships exceeding 190 meters in length or with a capacity of over 900 passengers from visiting the region’s ports. The coastline includes popular tourist destinations such as Villefranche-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and the city of Nice.

“Today we have ships that are real floating cities with up to 5,000 passengers,” Estrosi told France 3 Côte d’Azur. “These vessels do not correspond in any way to the model that we want to develop in terms of hospitality tourism.”

He described cruise ships as “monsters of the seas” and cited Venice as an example of a city that “regained its beauty and landscape” after imposing restrictions on cruise ships.

While Estrosi aims to implement the ban in early July, the proposal will require cooperation with officials from neighboring municipalities. It is expected to form part of a broader policy promoting responsible tourism, according to Monaco Life.

Despite these plans, numerous cruise ships are still scheduled to visit the Nice-Côte d’Azur region in 2025, including vessels from Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, TUI Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International