Their detractors denounce an “ecological aberration”, they claim “a world first 100% compliant with French land and maritime regulations”. The promoters of Canua Island came out of their silence on Wednesday to respond to the “slanderous and baseless campaign” of which their floating private beach project would be “the target”. And above all to ensure that they had “no doubt” about obtaining the necessary authorizations to soon begin operating their boat off Mandelieu-La Napoule, near Cannes.
“It’s a matter of hours or days, assured Jean-Bernard Falco, president of the company Smart island Riviera, from La Seyne-sur-Mer, in the Var, where the ship arrived on May 22 for inspections. We are not able to give a precise date because all that still depends on two administrative documents. But we have no doubt that the French State will do all the necessary diligence to issue us with the appropriate authorizations”. ” In the name of what, [il] born [nous les] would not give” whereas he “gives them every day to lots of new ships”, he added, arguing: “we are in a country of law”.
Navigation and armament license pending
A security commission, which visited the platform in recent days, “validated its compliance”, indicate the officials of Canua island. Installed on a trimaran 41 m long, it embarks, on 31 m wide, dozens of deckchairs, a lounge bar, a restaurant, a luxury suite of 45 m2 and even a freshwater swimming pool.
After this first step, the promoters still have to obtain the navigation license but also the armament license “which validates the human aspect of the ship” and “the training of the crew”. “And we have no doubt about getting them,” repeated Jean-Bernard Falco, surrounded by Marc Audineau, ex-dinghy champion behind the project with Tony Philp, another athlete of Fijian origin. .
If everything is validated, the ship will then still have to obtain mooring authorizations every 72 hours to anchor in the bay of Mandelieu-La Napoule or “elsewhere depending on the privatization requests of our customers”, according to Jean-Bernard Falco . Contacted by 20 minutesthe maritime prefecture of the Mediterranean specifies that the boat falls under the decree of February 16, 2023 “regulating the anchoring and stopping of ships of gross tonnage greater than or equal to 300 [UMS] », which is the case of Canua Island. These authorizations to be renewed every three days “may be issued depending on the context and in particular respect for public order” and will be “in any case studied on a case-by-case basis”, assured a spokesperson.
Legal action already considered
Critics of the project, who denounce its environmental consequences, have already planned to take legal action. “As soon as the prefect has authorized the mooring, this decision will be the subject of a summary procedure before the administrative court”, had notably warned Me Eric Lanzarone, the lawyer for the Syllau association, set up by individuals. The Paca region is also “ready to file two appeals with the administrative justice, to prevent [la] implementation” of the project, said its president Renaud Muselier, Tuesday, in a press release.
The initiative, hitherto supported by the town hall of Mandelieu-la-Napoule, is also contested by the LR mayor of Cannes David Lisnard and by the Minister for Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu himself. The initiative “raises a circumspection to which I subscribe”, he declared in mid-March. “It is now up to the State, the sole decision-maker, to consistently meet its commitments in favor of ecology” and to “suspend” the project “before it sets precedent and spreads to the coasts”, Hélène replied to him. Granouillac, president of the local association Terre Bleue. A petition launched three months ago to oppose the exploitation of this “floating island” which would be “at the expense of the environment”, had gathered more than 17,000 signatures on Wednesday.
The artificial islet, victim of a “slanderous campaign without any foundation” according to its designers, would be “a respectful ship, from its design to its operation”, they assure for their part. “Materials with a low environmental footprint” would have been used. The operation will be done using “biofuels” and the boat “will not be equipped with underwater lights and the sound will be attenuated so as not to disturb the marine fauna”, they also assure, praising “the creation of 100 jobs”.