Green light from Bachelot for the demolition of the National Theater of Nice

The destruction of the TNN is part of the mayor (ex-LR) Christian Estrosi's plan to extend the "green belt" in the city center, by also razing the Acropolis convention center to create an "urban forest" at the end of 2025.

In a letter dated December 2 and quoted by the town hall, Mrs. Bachelot decided "to authorize the demolition" of the National Theater of Nice (TNN) "having regard to the cultural issues of the city of Nice" and despite the collapse of the National drama center on three sites which constitutes "a real constraint".

It "no longer meets" the technical and artistic needs, according to the minister and "requires heavy work to bring them up to standard valued between 12 and 18 million euros".

Built by architect Yves Bayard and inaugurated in 1989, the TNN forms a monumental gray octagon, covered with marble, which contrasts with the Italian-inspired architecture of the city center and nearby Old Nice.

Voted in July 2020 by the municipal council, its destruction is strongly opposed by the municipal opposition, in particular the elected ecologists who denounce "a financial and ecological scandal"; and by the architect's daughter, Martine Bayard.

"It is a real affront to property rights on the one hand and to the world of entertainment on the other," writes the latter on the website of the association created to defend "an important work of the 20th century, coherent and functional" .

Eric Ciotti, LR deputy for Alpes-Maritimes, expressed in November his opposition to the destruction of the TNN and requested its classification as a historical monument.

To ensure the continuity of the live performance activity, four sites will be made available to the TNN, the town hall said in a press release: the hall of the former Franciscan church, offering 400 seats and which will open in March 2022; and eventually a large hall with 800 seats which will take place in the current Palais des Expositions from the 2025/2026 season.

The destruction of the TNN makes possible the project to extend the Promenade du Paillon, which "provides for 8 ha of additional urban park, or 20 ha of greenery in total" in the town center and the planting of 1.500 trees allowing, according to the town hall, "the storage of 50 tons of CO2 and the reduction of 2 to 3 degrees of temperature during heat waves".