The artificial islet Canua island which hopes to drop anchor near Cannes has arrived in France for “inspections”

After being assembled in Italy, it now floats in French territorial waters. The artificial island Canua Island, a kind of floating private beach that its promoters hope to anchor and exploit as soon as possible in the bay of Mandelieu-la-Napoule, near Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), arrived Monday morning off Toulon. She will be examined there by the authorities, learned 20 minutes with the maritime prefecture of the Mediterranean.

The boat “is there within the framework of inspections which will be carried out by the nautical safety commission”, an entity independent of the prefecture, indicated a spokesman for the services of the State, specifying that this procedure is registered “in a normal process”. These checks will be carried out “in a shipyard in La Seyne-sur-Mer (Var)”, he also said. This unprecedented project has been the subject of opposition for several months, including that expressed by the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu himself. Some detractors denouncing “an ecological aberration”.

Night navigation, from Sunday to Monday

The ship, a 41 m long trimaran fitted out with a 1,750 m2 platform designed to carry dozens of deckchairs, a lounge bar, a restaurant, a 45 m2 luxury suite and even a freshwater swimming pool, had left the port of La Spezia, Italy, where it was designed, Sunday evening. According to the Marine Traffic site, he arrived in the harbor of Toulon on Monday morning, shortly after 8 a.m., after sailing all night.

Marc Audineau, one of the two promoters of the project, as well as their communication agency, contacted by 20 minutes, was not available on Monday morning. Last week, the company indicated that it had no news to communicate immediately but specified: “We will be able to speak in the coming weeks”. Canua Island designers were hoping for a launch before the Cannes Film Festival, which is currently in full swing on the Croisette.

The fear that the project “sets precedent”

At the beginning of May, critics of the project met in Théoule-sur-Mer, near Cannes, to reiterate their opposition. “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”, declared Hélène Granouillac , president of the local association Terre Bleue.

The initiative, supported by the town hall of Mandelieu-la-Napoule where the promoters of Canua island have planned to settle, is also contested by the LR mayor of Cannes David Lisnard and the president of the Paca region Renaud Muselier (Horizons). A petition launched by individuals had gathered nearly 8,000 signatures on Monday.

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