A furious row erupted last week in light of new regulations focused on cruise ships in a French city. The dramatic maritime confrontation quickly made headlines across France, and saw Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice and president of the Nice-Côte d’Azur Metropole, boarding a small motorboat alongside a group of journalists to speed toward the Voyager of the Seas, The colossal Royal Caribbean cruise ship was anchored just off the coast of Villefranche-sur-Mer in the French Riviera. The ship, carrying more than 3,000 passengers, had arrived early Thursday morning. Estrosi claimed that the ship was in breach of a regulation that came into effect on July 1, limiting cruise disembarkations to vessels carrying no more than 2,500 passengers. Originally, Estrosi had proposed an even stricter limit of 900 passengers in order to curb pollution and reduce the impact of mass tourism in the area.
Following pressures from industry stakeholders, the limit was revised to 2,500 passengers and capped at 65 cruise ship calls per year. Speaking to Nice Matin, Estrosi declared, before heading to the cruise ship, “Like Captain Watson, I’m going to board her” referencing environmental activist Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd.
In a video shared by France 3 Côte d’Azur, Estrosi can be seen shouting at the ship and its captain in English: “You are not allowed to be there. You will be heavily punished for this. You are nobody.” A few seconds later, he said in French: “Stop! Get out of here!” The ship refused to receive him or his written complaint.
Estrosi shut down the cruise terminal overseen by the Metropole. However, the port of la Darse in Villefranche-sur-Mer, governed by the Departmental Council rather than Estrosi, stayed open, allowing the cruise ship to still disembark passengers.
Estrosi later wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “This morning, the Royal Caribbean Group ship ‘Voyager of the Seas’, carrying 3,114 passengers, anchored in Villefranche harbour at 6am, in violation of the measure that came into force on 1 July prohibiting the disembarkation of any cruise ship carrying more than 2,500 passengers.
“I immediately contacted the Alpes-Maritimes prefect, the Mediterranean maritime prefect and the Minister for Ecological Transition, asking them to take all necessary steps as quickly as possible to order the ship’s immediate departure from Villefranche harbour.
“As port authority, I insisted on going on board the ship myself to formally notify the crew of the disembarkation ban. The captain not only refused to receive me on board, but also to take my official notification into account. Faced with this refusal, I ordered all access to the ferry terminal to be closed.
“The day after the ocean summit, I will not give up. I am asking all the authorities concerned to stand firm on this issue. I intend to ensure strict compliance with the decisions taken to combat maritime pollution, preserve air quality and protect the quality of life of local residents.”
Union Maritime 06 firmly condemned “the attempted illegal boarding of the mayor of Nice without prior authorisation” and said that the stopover had been “validated in advance by the metropole itself and had never been the subject of any condemnation since.”
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson told Seatrade Cruise News: “As part of our internal protocol, any visit request must follow a formal process which includes completing and submitting a request form in advance of any visit. While we are more than happy to welcome and engage with authorities at any time, we ask that all visitor requests follow the established procedure.”
Royal Caribbean has also been contacted by the Express for comment. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has also been contacted for comment.
The Voyager of the Seas departed Villefranche as scheduled on Thursday evening and continued its trip, reaching the city of Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica.
After Nice’s recent move to ban big cruise ships, Cannes, world famous for its glamorous film festival, is now adopting similar measures and restrictions.
Starting January 1, 2026, all ships carrying more than 1,300 passengers will be banned from docking in the bay of Cannes.