To be or not to be bigger

Before 2006 they could occupy 30 per cent of the public beach, but that has been reduced to 20 per cent length-wise and 20 per cent by width. A temporary concession has been given to Côte d’Azur beaches on the Baie des Anges but operators fear this window could be closed and want the text to be made definitive. They argue that, because of anomalies in the configuration of some beaches, in reality their space would be cut down to 17 per cent if the concession was lifted.

The aim of the law is to improve the lot of the public beaches but given that some, particularly those to the west of Nice are often not full even at the height of summer, they say it is an unnecessary penalty.

If the law were to be applied the private beach operators claim that a quarter of the current 4,000 beach lounges on the Côte capital's beaches would have to go and 50 summer jobs would be lost. For the moment the powers-that-be in Paris remain silent on the issue. CL