A French court has overturned a ban on large cruise ships in Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, which had been due to kick in at the start of July.
The ban, imposed by Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi, aimed to prevent ships carrying more than 450 passengers from docking in Nice, and those with more than 2,500 from stopping in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
According to Maritime Executive, on 3 July, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi boarded a police boat in an attempt to stop Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, which was carrying more than 3,000 passengers, from anchoring and disembarking passengers.
Port officials highlighted that the ship was on a scheduled and approved port call.
The Mayor then reissued the ban, with a new start date of 11 July.
However, on Sunday (13 July) the ban was overturned by a court, as a result of a challenge by the Prefet of the Alpes-Maritimes region.
Seatrade News reported the court said the Prefet, not the Mayor, had the ‘powers of policing the water place, to organise the entries, exits and movements of ships’.
Had the ban been implemented, it would have affected at least 12 cruises in 2025 and 53 in 2026.
