"Our employees struggle every day to get to Monaco," they defend the incredible project of a metro between Nice and Ventimiglia.

Saturation and inaction. The FEDEM's assessment this fall is unequivocal. It can be read throughout the entire issue of the quarterly publication published by the Federation of Monegasque Enterprises, which prides itself on putting its foot down on the issues of transportation and housing. And business leaders added another layer this Tuesday morning by calling the press to "call on public opinion and ensure things change," their president, Philippe Ortelli, justified.

In his sights: congested roads leading to the Principality, chaotic rail transport, and the lack of housing for workers in neighboring municipalities. "Our employees struggle every day to get to Monaco. For more than ten years, no transport infrastructure or housing for workers has been truly implemented. The government is putting off structural decisions. And the consequences of this lack of foresight are hours spent on the roads or in transport, and employees who are breaking down. An economic, ecological, and human absurdity."

"Human and decent conditions"

Faced with these problems, the FEDEM team believes it has remained silent "for too long" trying to please both sides. It has unveiled a project reworked in recent months by the federation: the feasibility of a metro that would serve the entire eastern coastline of the Alpes-Maritimes region all the way to the Italian border. An underground line, extending over some thirty kilometers between Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport and Ventimiglia. It would have around ten stops, mainly in Nice and Monaco.

A recurring theme in recent years that Monaco's employers intend to push to fruition to ensure the Principality's economic sustainability. "The train and road are saturated. And our 50,000 employees each day need to be brought in and out in humane and decent conditions," says Philippe Ortelli. " The Monegasque economy is formidable and creates more than 1,000 jobs per year. In ten years, we have added 15,000 additional employees, but the ways in which people come to work in Monaco are the main problem affecting our attractiveness." Between the unreliability of the train, the daily traffic jams on the road, and the high rents in the neighboring municipalities, the sums are quickly added up. And can make workers doubt about coming to work in the Principality.

“Our infrastructure no longer meets our needs”

"Our workforce is based in Nice (17,000 Monegasque employees live there) or on the Italian side, and our current infrastructure no longer meets our needs, nor those of the future," adds FEDEM Vice President Henri Leizé. "Our economic model is not designed to be zero-growth. We are in a situation that requires employment. But in terms of housing, in the neighboring municipalities, it is more second homes that are developing than apartments for workers. The sea is not a good means of transport, the train will quickly be limited. We cannot expand the roads. And teleworking does not solve the problems because it requires the employee to come to Monaco regularly."

A demonstration that places the metro project as the number 1 solution . "We must readapt the infrastructure to what Monaco has become," adds Fabien Deplanche, president of the Building Employers' Chamber, for whom the Principality must set itself the objective of 100,000 employees by 2060. "We must give ourselves the means to perpetuate the success of our socio-economic model. More than fifty years ago, burying Monaco station, to free up high-value land, was a promising long-term vision. We cannot continue to live on infrastructure that is adapted to no one."

A 4 billion euro project

As the new school year begins, marked by the inauguration of a new Minister of State, the FEDEM team believes it is time to act to launch studies and consider financing a colossal project estimated at 4 billion euros.

"The country's economic growth still needs 1,000 jobs per year for the next twenty years for the pension system and VAT. And what are we putting in place today to ensure that this growth takes place in good human and ecological conditions? Traffic jams represent tens of thousands of tons of CO2 per year," asks Philippe Ortelli. For the latter, the obstacle is neither technical nor financial. Only political will will make the shift . "We missed a window of opportunity in 2020 when rates were extremely low for a project between Nice and Monaco, where both parties were in favor. Now we need political courage," he sighs. "The same political courage that Prince Rainier III had, who had the will to drill the A500 tunnel. Imagine if we still had to take the back roads today to reach the highway at La Turbie!"