Nice. Drugs, noise, dirt: these residents tell of an “unbearable” daily life

The street seems quiet. For about two years, after parking on Boulevard Winston Churchill became chargeable, residents of this area of ​​the port of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) report experiencing significant nuisances.

On a “very regular” basis, groups of young people come to squat in the free spaces at night. Shouting, music, “all kinds of” trafficking, local residents can’t take it anymore, to the point of thinking about moving. Testimonies.

Paid parking… without cars

They know it, “it’s a exceptional corner“, “we are privileged”. But when night falls, a few steps from the Reserve, Winston Churchill Boulevard changes face.

“There were free spaces with suction cars. All the spaces were taken. From the moment the street became toll-free, no one else stood there,” Jean recalls.

The axis is now “very little frequentedor even deserted in the evening.” Result: “It has become a squatting place,” he says. And this, “almost every night,” says Gabriel, also a local resident.

“I’m afraid it will get out of hand.”

“We can no longer sleep with the windows open. It’s often 2 a.m. There’s heckling, there’s shouting, there’s music playing. Motorcycles and scooters make a lot of noise,” adds one of the residents.

This lasts all night. Saturday, it was 2:30 a.m., I went to the window, I had to whistle because they had music on and couldn’t hear me. I remain polite, I have no interest in violently opposing them because they know where I live, I am tied hand and foot. I don’t want my wife or my daughter to be attacked one evening when they come home. I’m afraid it’s going to get out of hand.

Then, “it went crescendo”. The nuisances have gone up a notch. They both explain that they witnessed what seemed to them to be “drug trafficking”, with supporting photos.

A deal point?

“A car parks, it keeps its headlights on all night. Other cars or two-wheelers arrive to park next to it, they get out, they chat and then leave again,” reports Gabriel. Jean confirms this: “It has deviated into a drug dealing point. I see transactions with exchanges of packages.”

Another problem is that young people consume nitrous oxide. Regularly, the canisters are thrown from the sidewalk and are then collected below by the caretaker of the residence.

“They dropped it from a height of three stories. You can imagine if someone gets one on the head, they kill them,” says Jean indignantly.

During the day… shisha

During the day, some people sit on the public highway with folding chairs to smoke shisha. Especially since The rubbish then litters the sidewalk. Not to mention urban rodeos. But they are much less frequent, Jean tempers. A daily life that has become “unbearable” for him.

These residents have informed the relevant services many timesthey say, but “the police do not intervene, I even went to the police station but they have better things to do and I understand it”.

Jean believes he is paying the price for the political war between Christian Estrosi and Eric Ciotti, the port being part of the constituency of the (still) boss of the LR.

However, several arrests have already taken place here, according to the municipality we contacted.

Eight arrests on June 22

“An operation dedicated to the sector was organized on the evening of June 22 and resulted in 8 arrests for drug use and carrying a weapon,” relates Anthony Borré, first deputy in charge of security.

During the summer period, nuisances, damage and security problems are noted on Avenue Franck Pilatte and Boulevard Winston Churchill affecting the living environment of local residents. Faced with this, and although securing public space is a State responsibility, the City’s mobilization is total.

35 reports were thus drawn up, 18 for alcohol consumption and 6 for incivility. Patrols are organized “daily” in the sector, indicates the elected official, in addition to “a permanent physical presence at the municipal post of the port”.

Regarding the said inaction, the City responds: “In 2024, there were 5 calls to the municipal police switchboard, two in May and three in June, regarding Winston Churchill Boulevard, concerning noise pollution and gatherings. Each of these calls resulted in a resolution of doubt.”

Return to free?

But the nuisances seem persist. “We have never experienced this. It’s unbearable. We even hesitate to leave,” admits Gabriel. The only solution for the local residents we interviewed: finding free street parking.

But Anthony Borré nevertheless recalls: “This change took place in January 2021 in this sector, at the request of the neighborhood committees which did not ask for a step back”.

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