Former Nice mayor Christian Estrosi says his political career is over

Call him Christian. The former mayor of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) is back on the media scene this fall but, he swears several times, politics, for him, “it’s over”. It's a new man who presents himself to Le Figaro in an establishment on the outskirts of France's fifth city, affable face and bright blue folder full of newspaper clippings under his arm. The ex-Mr. Mayor – “Christian will suffice” – sits down between two phone calls to talk about his “failure”, his “doubts” and his “future” that he hopes for, at 71, far from the throes of local politics.

Clearly, it is about gaining height after coming down from the mountain - in this case, that of Kilimanjaro, which he is pleased to recall that he successfully climbed last summer. “It changes you as a man,” assures the former high-level athlete whose face remains familiar to most Nice residents after 18 years in office. “When I meet them, I tell them that I am no longer Mayor…