As part of his bid for mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti has floated the idea of creating a special economic zone in the Plaine du Var aimed at attracting Monaco-based companies — a proposal that could reshape the economic and transport dynamics between the two neighbouring territories.
With more than 25,000 residents of Nice commuting to Monaco each day, candidate for mayor Éric Ciotti is proposing a bold — and potentially controversial — idea: a Monaco-style zone franche, or free zone, within the Alpes-Maritimes, designed to offer tax and employment conditions as advantageous as those found in the Principality.
In an interview with Nice-Matin, Ciotti said the concept is still at the idea stage, but it features prominently in his campaign message to Niçois voters ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for 15th and 22nd March 2026.
“This is about easing the pressure of daily travel for tens of thousands of workers while creating a new magnet for economic growth,” Ciotti told Nice-Matin. He believes Monaco’s lack of available territory, paired with France’s need for new job creation in the region, creates a mutually beneficial opportunity.
From La Turbie to the Plaine du Var
The proposal is not entirely new. Ciotti, who currently serves as president of the Franco-Monegasque friendship group at the National Assembly, previously explored a similar project while heading the departmental council — suggesting a business hub near the Cruella quarry in La Turbie, connected to Monaco by funicular.
Now, as a mayoral candidate, he’s turning his focus to the Plaine du Var, specifically the Éco-Vallée on the western side of Nice, which he criticised as having failed to deliver on its 2005 promise of creating 30,000 jobs. “In reality, not a single net job has been created,” he told Nice-Matin. A Monaco-linked economic zone, he argues, could reverse that trend.
A legal and diplomatic challenge
Creating a true Monaco-style economic zone on French soil would require substantial legal and diplomatic groundwork. “We’d need a treaty between France and Monaco approved by law,” Ciotti admitted in Nice-Matin. “It’s not simple — but no more complicated than building a tunnel between Nice and the Principality.”
He envisions a framework where Monaco-based businesses could operate within the Alpes-Maritimes under similarly favourable fiscal and social conditions, though he concedes that such details are far from finalised.
Reception in Monaco
Asked about reaction from across the border, Ciotti claimed that the proposal has been discussed with Monegasque counterparts “at the highest level” and suggested that H.S.H. Prince Albert II found the idea “appealing”.
Monaco’s perennial challenge — a lack of space for future expansion — could find a practical solution in a cooperative venture of this kind, granting the Principality access to additional development territory without the infrastructure costs associated with land reclamation.
Still, Ciotti recognises that the French government has yet to express enthusiasm for the idea — and is even less convinced by long-discussed alternatives, such as a cross-border metro system, which he described as “extremely costly” and unlikely to materialise for another two decades.
An idea in motion
While a maritime shuttle and other mobility options remain on the table, Ciotti presents this free zone as “one more solution” that could both relieve congestion and attract high-value employers. “The gain would be twofold: job creation and improved quality of life for thousands of workers stuck in traffic every day,” he told Nice-Matin.
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Main photo: Joia Merida, one of the Eco-Valley programs in Nice. Sou Fujimoto – Chartier Dalix – Cino Zucchi