Nice taxis denounce their condition of access to Monaco and threaten to demonstrate for the Grand Prix
Côte d’Azur taxi drivers have filed a protest notice to report the difficulties they encounter in accessing the Principality. Their union is considering a move for May 26, the day of the Monaco Grand Prix.
To drive their customers to Monegasque territory, some delicate ones true Way of the Cross:
We have to declare ourselves, when we go to Monegasque territory, we have to pay to go to Monegasque territory, we have to have quotas, and now a seasonality on the vignettes, so there are a lot of things that are not acceptable
details Fabrice Cavallera, the president of the Nice taxi union.
It was he who filed with the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes the notice of demonstration, on May 26, ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco.
Met at Terminal 1 of Nice Côte d’Azur airport by the France 3 teams this Friday, May 13, other professionals abound in this direction, such as Yacine Alem.
This taxi driver who lives in Cap d’Ail, denounces an increasingly tense climate with his Monegasque colleagues : “They reproach us for seeing each other too often in Monaco. We can’t do anything about it, all our customers want to go to Monaco. By deduction, at certain times they meet us on the access roads to Monaco. And there is a form of jealousy also because there are a lot of customers who come to us because we are available, we are also courteous.”
The town hall of Nice communicated during the day to try to calm things down.
On several occasions in recent months, “Gaël Nofri, Deputy Mayor for Traffic, Parking and Urban Logistics, received the Nice and Maralpine taxi and VTC driver unions to discuss working relations with the Principality of Monaco” let the text know.
On the Monegasque side, transport professionals do not see things from the same angle. René Baché drives his taxi on the roads of Monaco: “I don’t feel that, no, for us everything is fine, we don’t load in France. I thought it was of course all that.”
The main government was quick to respond. On son sitethe princely government explained that :
In the context of working relations with the Principality of Monaco, Christian Estrosi discussed this morning with His Highness Albert II the situation of taxis and VTCs in Nice.
Princely Government of the Principality of Monaco
At the heart of the discussions: the decision of the Monegasque government to limit the access of French taxis and VTC to the Principality of Monaco.
Aware of the concerns that this restriction represents for them, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, and Deputy President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, recalled in particular this Friday, May 13, 2022 :
It is in the spirit of these relations, and aware of the positive advantage that the Monte Carlo Masters and the Formula 1 Grand Prix represent for our territory, that we must move towards a solution that is beneficial for all and respects the principle of reciprocity.
The Monegasque government, for its part, refers to a “permanent dialogue for several weeks with the French Embassy in Monaco and the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes in order to find a balance between the expectations of French professionals and the preservation of the legitimate interests of professionals in the Principality”.
Concrete proposals have been motivated by the Monegasque authority, “which seem to meet the interests of all”.
She hope to see his interlocutors “privileging the path of consultation and dialogue” before recalling that it would be “regrettable regrettable for the Principality to spoil this promising start to the tourist season in Monaco as on the whole of the Côte d’Azur, with demonstrations after two years of unprecedented health crisis to which is added an international conflict in Europe.”
Enough to encourage French taxis to slow down, as we approach a summer that everyone wants to be synonymous with tourist success.