If he becomes mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti will reject the ice rink projects planned for the 2030 Olympics.

"In principle, I am in favour of the Olympic Games. It is always an important event, which gives prestige to our nation," the Alpes-Maritimes MP declared on France 5.

But in Nice, "if I am elected mayor tomorrow, it won't happen like that," he warned, saying he was "ready to consult the people of Nice by referendum" if anyone tried to force his hand.

Planned as an Olympic hub for ice sports, Nice is also slated to host an Olympic village, the media center and the closing ceremony.

Although the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) 2030 has given itself until the end of June to finalise the map of the sites, for now the plan is to cover the football stadium of the Allianz Arena for the hockey events and to build next to it a new ice rink for figure skating.

"I do not want the Allianz Riviera stadium to be used, blocked for several months and for our team (OGC Nice) to be forced to play elsewhere, at a cost of 80 million euros," said Mr. Ciotti, who also rejects the large ice rink project.

"There are other solutions. I will propose them," he assured. When contacted by AFP regarding these alternative solutions, Mr. Ciotti's team did not immediately respond.

In early November, MP Frédéric Maillot (Democratic and Republican Left group), rapporteur for the opinion on the credits of the Sport budget of the National Assembly's Committee on Cultural Affairs, had questioned the Nice ice rink project, "estimated at 138 million euros", while there are functional Olympic ice rinks in Marseille, Lyon or Pralognan-la-Vanoise.