• The mayor of Nice has announced several times his desire to raze the TNN and the Acropolis palace to extend the green corridor.

  • The environmentalists of Nice have announced their opposition and question the reasons for this project while proposing a consultation with the population to find more ecological and "logical" alternatives.

  • The daughter of the architect of the theater is also opposed to the destruction of the building and denounces "an infringement of moral rights" of her father.

"This project does not tick any box, whether from an ecological, economic or cultural point of view," exclaims Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, elected municipal EELV.

At his side, his five colleagues from the environmental group, all opposed to Mayor Christian Estrosi's plan to destroy the National Theater of Nice (TNN) and the Acropolis convention center to extend the promenade du Paillon.

They came together to "mobilize".

After the announcement of a performance hall at the Iconic, they "felt that there was a desire to find new excuses for the demolition of the TNN which is due to begin in January 2022", indicates the elected municipal official.

"The dispersion of rooms, an economic disaster"

According to their sources, the cost of renovating the TNN, one of the reasons mentioned which justifies its demolition for the town hall, amounts to six million euros. “It's cheaper than the ephemeral theater that the city wants to set up during the works. It is also not an ecological proposition to buy disposable, ”says the elected ecologist. She adds: “We wonder where the ecological logic is to destroy two operational buildings to rebuild elsewhere. It is a catastrophic and ineffective balance sheet for the planet. "For her, the argument of revegetation of the city," an artificialization of the ground ", is inadmissible: she would rather see trees planted" in the Acropolis parking lot ".

The opposition group also questions “this strategy of dispersing rooms to bring culture to life.

The big house of the theater will no longer exist, for the teams, the sets, the rehearsals, it will be a real headache ”.

For the convention center too, which "brings customers to the shops of Old Nice" at each event, the "economic loss is colossal".

Relocating to the west of the city, in the plain of the Var, "will only benefit large hotels", explain the elected officials.

"To destroy the theater would be an attack on the spirit of the work"

On the esplanade of the building imagined by Yves Bayard, the six environmentalists called the daughter of the architect, Martine Bayard, with whom the mayor of Nice was to consult in September but who no longer receives an answer. “I have already said that this destruction project was an attack on my father's moral rights. Questions now arise. What means have been implemented to seek answers to the preservation of this work? What are the imperatives of general interest justifying this destruction? She asks. I think that the green belt can exist while preserving the whole of the promenade des arts ”.

The architect's daughter emphasizes how the buildings were constructed at this location. “The TNN is inseparable from MAMAC [the museum of modern and contemporary art]. They are linked, with the desire for a confrontation between the art of the moment and the art of research. Destroying the theater would be an attack on the spirit of the work because we would leave the museum without its alter ego, ”she explains.

The Greens propose "a counter-project" which "will correct the existing with a green space but not under these conditions".

They appeal to "public opinion" and invite all citizens to join them, in particular during workshops which will take place on Tuesdays in November, to "work on proposals".

They also think of appealing to avoid the start of the work.

An option to which Martine Bayard is open.

"My determination is deep and endless, I will do whatever it takes," she concludes.

As for the town hall, requested by

20 Minutes

, it assumes its choice.

She ensures that her project is "validated by the buildings of France by Unesco", and is ironic about the action of the environmental group "which opposes the greening" of the city.

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