Alpes-Maritimes

The Alpes-Maritimes department is surrounded by the departments of Var in the southwest, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the northwest; Italy to the north and east; and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It surrounds the Principality of Monaco on the west, north and east.

Geography of Alpes-Maritimes

Its topography is very mixed. As its name suggests, most of the department is a constituent part of the overall topographic Alps – including the Maritime Alps – but it also has the distinction of being a coastal district with its Mediterranean coast. The coastal area, urbanized and densely populated (shaded in red on the map), includes all the cities in an almost continuous conurbation from Cannes to Menton, while the larger but sparsely populated mountainous area (light green) is fully rural with the exception of the three large resorts of Valberg (created in 1936), Auron (created in 1937) and Isola 2000 (created in 1971).

The highest point of the department is the Cime du Gélas (3,143 metres, 10,312 ft) on the Franco-Italian border which dominates the Vallée des Merveilles further east. The summit of Monte Argentera is higher at 3,297 metres (10,817 ft) above sea level, but it is located in Italy. There is also Mount Mounier (2,817 metres, 9,242 ft), which dominates the south of the vast Dôme de Barrot, formed of a mass more than 900 metres (3,000 ft) thick of red mudstones deeply indented by the gorges of Daluis and Cians. Except in winter, four passes allow passage to the north of the Mercantour/Argentera mountain range whose imposing 62-kilometre-long (39 mi) barrier is covered in winter snow which is visible from the coast. From the west, the Route des Grandes Alpes enters the Cayolle Pass (2,326 metres, 7,631 ft) first on the way to the Alps and the sources of the Var in the commune of Entraunes. Then the route follows the Col de la Bonette – the highest pass in Europe at 2,715 metres (8,907 ft) – to connect to the valley of the Tinée then the Ubaye. Further east, the Col de la Lombarde (2,350 metres, 7,710 ft) above Isola 2000 allows access to the shrine of Saint-Anne de Vinadio in Italy. Finally, at its eastern end, the Col de Tende (1,871 metres, 6,138 ft) links with Cuneo in Italy.

The only region of the Alps close to Nice has an afforestation rate of 60.9%, slightly higher than the average of the department and well above the average of 39.4% for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.[5]

The rivers in alphabetical order are:

It is the climate that made the Côte d'Azur famous. The current department of Alpes-Maritimes, however, does not have only one climate, the complex terrain and high mountains divide the department between those who are well exposed (the south-facing side) and those which are less (the north-facing side) and even with the mild Mediterranean climate there can be violent storms and prolonged droughts.

The coastal area has a Mediterranean climate (rainfall in autumn November and spring February especially, summer drought, mild winter and dry summer). The interior, especially in the north, has a mountain climate (winter quite bright, summer storms). Around Cannes is a particularly warm micro-climate due to the high hills warming the air which descends on the city.

One of the attractions of the department is its level of sunshine: over 300 days per year. Despite this the department is also the most stormy of France with an average of 70 to 90 thunderstorm days per year, arising from the differences in temperature due to a warm sea in autumn.

As soon as one moves away from the coast, towards the west of the department, the interior plains (in particular near Grasse) the climate is a little less temperate but just as sunny. In summer, the temperature very easily exceeds 30 °C (86 °F), while the average is only 27 °C (81 °F) along the Nice coast during July and August. Occasional frost is possible in the interior during winter, unlike in Nice and rest of the coast, where frost is very rare.

In the east of the department, unlike the west, there are no plains. In the Menton region, the altitude increases very rapidly inland, so the sea tempers the atmosphere much more: the maximum in summer is on average 25 °C (77 °F) and the winters are milder than in the interior and frost is very rare.

Snow is also rare along the coast, however, it happens that rare snowfall surprises the Côte d'Azur residents (on average every 5-7 years), as was the case in the winter of 2004–2005 when the city of Nice woke up with a few centimetres of snow, often creating traffic problems. More recently, in February 2010, more than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) of snow was measured in Cannes and nearly 30 centimetres (12 in) in the Grasse region.

In the north of the department the climate in the Alps is mountainous, and there is decent snow cover from end of November until late April.

Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France[6]

Town	Sunshine (hours/yr)	Rain (mm/yr)	Snow (days/yr)	Storm (days/yr)	Fog (days/yr)
National average	1,973	770	14	22	40
Nice	2,724	733	1	29	1
Paris	1,661	637	12	18	10
Strasbourg	1,693	665	29	29	56
Brest	1,605	1,211	7	12	75

Department map showing its division into the two arrondissements and the location of some of its principal cities and towns

Alpes-Maritimes is divided into two arrondissements: Grasse and Nice, twenty-seven cantons and 163 communes.[3]

As of 1 January 2014, there were seven intercommunalities:[7]

• Four agglomeration communities:
  • Communauté d'agglomération de Sophia Antipolis
  • Communauté d'agglomération Cannes Pays de Lérins
  • Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Grasse
  • Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera Française
• One metropolis:
  • Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur.[8]
• Two communautés de communes:
  • Communauté de communes du Pays des Paillons
  • Communauté de communes Alpes d'Azur

The most populous commune is the prefecture Nice. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:[3]

Constituencies of Alpes-Maritimes for the National Assembly of France. Blue: The Republicans. Yellow: La République En Marche! (2017).

Since the end of World War II, Alpes-Maritimes has generally voted to the right. It has nine constituencies for the National Assembly. Following the 2017 legislative election, six constituencies are represented by members of The Republicans (LR) right-wing party and three by members of the La République En Marche! (REM) centrist party. Of the five members of the Senate who represent the department in the upper house of Parliament, four are right-wing (LR) and one is left-wing (Socialist Party, PS). Of the 54 departmental councillors, 52 are aligned with the right-wing coalition and two are in the left-wing opposition.

In the 2022 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally won a plurality in Alpes-Maritimes in the first round; incumbent Emmanuel Macron of La République En Marche! won a majority in the second round.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Alpes-Maritimes experienced corruption problems with its politicians, which led to several criminal convictions, including those of Nice Mayor Jacques Médecin and Cannes Mayor Michel Mouillot, as well as that of Antibes Mayor Pierre Merli, criminally indicted in 1995 for a real estate scam and convicted four years later.

The President of the Departmental Council has been Charles-Ange Ginésy since 2017, who took office upon succeeding Éric Ciotti. Ciotti remained a councillor and became majority leader.[11] Ginésy, who has been a councillor for the canton of Vence since 2015, has held a seat in the council since 2003. He also was Mayor of Péone (2001–2017) and the MP for Alpes-Maritimes's 2nd constituency (2005–2007; 2007–2008; 2009–2010; 2012–2017). Both are members of The Republicans (LR).

The coalition majority in the departmental council is one of the largest majorities in any such institution in France. Out of the 54 seats, only two are held by left-wing councillors, both elected in the canton of Grasse-2. In neighbouring Var, the right-wing coalition also holds all but two seats in the departmental council, although it is made up of less many seats and the two councillors in opposition are members of the far-right National Rally (RN). Following the 2021 departmental election, the seats were allocated as follows in Alpes-Maritimes:

Alpes-Maritimes elected the following MPs to the National Assembly in the 2022 legislative election:

As of 2020, the department's five Senators are Marc Daunis (PS, since 2008), Colette Giudicelli (LR, since 2008), Jean-Pierre Leleux (LR, since 2008), Dominique Estrosi Sassone (LR, since 2014) and Henri Leroy (LR, since 2017).

In 2011, the draft departmental budget amounted to €1.3 billion of which 498 million (38.3%) was devoted to social action and 346 million to operations (26.6%).[13] Capital expenditures was just over 250 million euros (19.2%).[13]

In 2010, the department was the third most indebted in France with €942 million of debt or 68.4% of the annual budget.[14] This debt amounted to 2,460 euros per fiscal tax unit (household) and 859 euros per person.[14] The trend of change in debt over the last decade has been a sharp increase: + 440% between 2001 and 2009 and 26% between 2009 and 2010.[14] There was only €43 million in debt in 2003.

The Departmental Council of Alpes-Maritimes is currently sponsoring several large projects:[15]

• construction of 10 residential facilities for the elderly
• building dikes in the Var plain
• creation of a STIC (science and information technology and communication) campus at Sophia Antipolis
• construction of 337 units of social housing
• establishment of facilities for the disabled
• road construction
• construction of schools and gyms (10)
• construction of a centre of sustainable development
• construction of the LGV Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
• creation of the Eco Valley in the Plaine of the Var which will run from the Arena Quarter (which will be converted) to the village of Baus-Roux

The Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Council has charged 1 euro per vehicle journey in the department, regardless of distance, since 1 January 2008.

Tourism is an essential industry for the entire coastal region (Côte d'Azur) and is highly developed. On the coast, thanks to the mild climate, towns are resort destinations all year round. In the mountains, there are winter sports stations that have received abundant snow in recent years, particularly Isola 2000.

There are also well-developed industries such as the perfume industry in Grasse, new technologies from Sophia-Antipolis, and the aerospace industry in Cannes-Mandelieu, where there is the first European satellite builders[23] and the first industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing.[24]

The French Riviera, centred on Nice, attracts millions of international tourists every year.

Villefranche-sur-Mer between Nice and Monaco

The presence of the Mediterranean Sea and the French Alps under a mild sky has favoured one dominant activity: tourism, which accounts for 64,000 jobs directly in the Alpes-Maritimes. For only the city of Nice the tourism turnover represents a 12 to 13% share of the whole tourism market in France. The capital of the Côte d'Azur is the fifth most populous city in France. The city of Nice also has the second largest airport in France (Nice Côte d'Azur Airport), after Paris and its three airports at Roissy, Orly and Le Bourget. There are nearly 13.5 million passengers per year passing through Nice Airport.

The seaside where the majority of the population resides is one of the most popular parts of the world with many attractions:

• Seaside resorts (Théoule-sur-Mer, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Cannes, Golfe-Juan, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Èze-sur-Mer, Cap d'Ail, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Menton)
• Convention cities that spread their business throughout the year are Cannes, with its Palais des Festivals, and Nice, with its Acropolis.

The area inland from the busy French Riviera is an excellent base for many outdoor sports: cycling, mountain biking, skiing, walking, rock climbing, canyoning, canoeing, rafting, fishing, horse riding, Adventure parks, caving and the area has the first ever underground via ferrata. The area has internationally renowned paragliding and hang gliding flying sites at Col-de-Bleyne, Gourdon, Gréolières and Lachens.

Mercantour National Park in the commune of Saint-Martin-Vésubie, which primarily covers a small town in the Alps and tourist destination

In the mountains, skiing and hiking bring life to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (Auron), Beuil, Péone (Valberg), Saint-Martin-Vésubie, Isola, Gréolières, Peïra-Cava, Col de Turini, and Turini-Camp d'argent in the Authion mountains.

As of 2019, 25.2% of available housing in the department were second homes.[25]

• Cannes Film Festival, an annual film festival held in Cannes
• Marché du Film, held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival
• Midem, an annual trade fair for the music industry held in Cannes
• Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, an event of the advertising and creative communications industry

Nice Carnival (2013)

La Fête du Citron (Lemon festival) in Menton

• Pantiero Festival, Cannes (electronic and independent music) in August
• International Dance Festival, Cannes, a dance festival held in late November and early December every second year
• International Festival of Games, Cannes, in February
• Festival of Night music at Le Suquet, Cannes, classical music in July
• Fireworks Festival, Cannes, fireworks in July and August
• Festival of Performances of actors, Cannes, June
• Festival of dances "Break the Floor", Cannes, January
• International Dance Festival, Cannes, November
• Festival of Russian Art and Dance, Cannes, August
• International Youth Ballets, organized by the Senior Dance School of École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, Cannes, March
• La Fête du Mimosa, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, February
• Italian Market, Mougins, (formerly the Piedmontese Market before 2011)
• International Gastronomic festival, Mougins
• Jazz à Juan, Juan-les-Pins
• Nice Jazz Festival
• Nice Carnival
• Naval Combat with flowers, Villefranche-sur-Mer
• Lemon Festival, Menton
• Southern Nights in Vence, world music
• Festival Tomawok, Nice (rock, metal music), June
• Book Festival of Mouans-Sartoux, three days in early October (21st Festival in 2008)
• This Is Not Classic, an annual event[26] for classical music, created by the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes[27] in 2005. It takes place at the Acropolis convention centre in Nice and occupies all available rooms beginning with the large auditorium seating 2,400 people.
• Chestnut Festival

The Picasso museum in Antibes

Famous museums include:

• the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence
• the Picasso museum in Antibes
• Concrete art in Mouans-Sartoux
• the Fernand Léger Museum in Biot
• the Chagall and Matisse museums in Nice
• the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) also in Nice

The department has 222 nursery schools, 357 primary schools and one special school. It also hosts 72 colleges, 14 vocational schools and 22 high schools, to which must be added 65 private schools.

The University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, in Nice and neighboring areas, was founded in 1965.

Higher education is relatively underdeveloped in the department. The urban area of Nice has 35,000 students,[28] while Rennes and Bordeaux each have 60,000.

A campus of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) was established in Menton in October 2005. The Menton campus is dedicated to the relationship between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean and the relationship of Europe with the Middle East.

Several engineering schools are also located in Sophia Antipolis:

• Eurecom (School of Engineering and Research Center in communication systems)
• Mines ParisTech
• Polytech Nice Sophia

In addition, two major business schools are located in the region:

• EDHEC in Nice
• Skema Business School in Sophia Antipolis

There are is the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Sophia Antipolis.