The final stage of the 2024 Tour de France will see the peloton depart one-by-one from the Principality of Monaco for Nice via Èze-sur-Mer. In order to maintain security and safety levels, the village will be entirely cut off to passing traffic, and locals are not happy about it.
Excitement over the final stage of the Tour de France has been dampened in the pretty perched village of Èze following the news that the commune will be shut off to all traffic between 9am and 7pm on 21st July.
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The decision to prohibit traffic for entering and leaving the village has caused tension among the population of 2,100, who rely heavily on summer tourism for their livelihoods. At the centre of their frustrations are questions on why the closures need to be all-day when the cyclists won’t be passing by until after 2.30pm.
“There was no discussion on the subject, nor any coordination, even though we could perhaps have found solutions,” Thierry Naidu, CEO of Phoenix Hotel Management, the parent company that runs Èze’s Chèvre d’Or, told France 3 Côte d’Azur.
According to Naidu, the two Michelin star restaurant has been forced to cancel reservations, leading to an estimated €50,000 loss for the day.
Stéphane Roux, the director of Gallimard, also shared his disappointment with the French language news outlet, adding, “It’s quite catastrophic for traders. We’re going to have to close. It’s a dead loss.”
A spokesperson for the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes, the official body behind the decision, has said that the reasons for the closure of Èze are clear: “The time trial circuit, which is being held this Sunday 21st July, must be verified early in the morning because the riders will carry out a final reconnaissance of the course from 11.30am.”
Additionally, officials will need time to erect the protective barriers along the roadside and conduct technical checks.
The Tour de France’s final stage, which is not taking place in Paris as usual due to the upcoming Olympic Games, will be a 35-kilometre time trial from Monaco to Nice’s Place Masséna. The first rider will leave the Principality at 2.30pm, with the final cyclist due in Nice by 7.30pm.
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Photo source: Bogitw, Pixabay