Nice In Nice.... Or Lost In France?

Gunta and I have just returned from the Côte d'Azur and very nice it was too. Our first time so far south in France, we were based in Cannes for the six day trip. For one of  those days we purchased a daily rail pass that would allow us to take in Nice and Antibes. We arrived at the stunning Nice-Ville railway station, an edifice constructed in the so-called Louis XIII style that opened in 1864 to cope with an influx of British high society, which had recently adopted this part of the French coast as a preferred escape destination from the cold and damp of a British winter.

Louis-Jules Bouchot's Nice-Ville Station

I suspect that Gunta was half expecting me to come up with some ill-thought through Stranglers related slant on this, out first time in Nice. I carefully introduced the Nice incident in to our conversation whilst on the train, somewhere between Antibes and Nice and that it may be interesting to perhaps locate the scene of The Stranglers' defiant pose after being arrested on charges of incitement to riot after a gig-gone-wrong at Nice University.

You know the one...

The story is part of Stranglers' lore and is covered in an earlier post that can be found here. 

I should have done some prior homework before leaving the shade of Nice-Ville for the blisteringly hot pavements of the city. Instead, I put out a post of Neil's memorabilia Facebook page asking whether anyone had the details of the precise location of the building doorway that graced the sleeve of the 'Nice in Nice' single. Ahead of any responses, we, or rather I, confidently struck out in search of a small piece of Meninblack history. 

Wig was the first to respond, postulating that the location would be the Palais De Justice, the principal (and perhaps) only court in Nice, where the case was certainly heard. However, my 'instinct' told me otherwise. I made the assumption that since JJ and Jet were in handcuff for the shot, in all probability the photograph would have been taken enroute to the court for a first hearing. Here, bear in mind that the last post that I made on the incident was back in January 2021 and it has been a great many years since I read Jet's 'Much Ado About Nothing' account... so I was going blind so to speak. If I were correct in my logic, more likely location (perhaps) would be the Maison D'Arrêt De Nice. Such buildings within the French legal system house cells in which prisoners can be held prior to trial or sentencing once convicted.

A google search of the building was promising, the photos indicated that whilst the entrance was not that shown on the cover, the architecture was similar and perhaps on the day, these four high profile prisoners were whisked away from a different part of the building. 

Maison D'Arrêt De Nice

'High on a hill...'

Armed with (misplaced) confidence and the Google maps app we began to ascent the hills of Nice. We walked and walked, ultimately finding ourselves high up on residential terraces as the 'Nice In Nice' earworm gave way to 'Lost In France' (R.I.P. Bonnie Tyler). It was a Sunday, so all very quiet. The few locals that passed us looked upon two people, obviously tourists and obviously lost (one with head down, focused upon a phone and the other scowling), with a mixture of bemusement and suspicion. 

After almost an hour of walking and climbing/descending numerous sets of steps we came upon a final set of steps that we needed to descend in order to reach our destination. The problem was that these steps were sealed off and peering through the metal fencing and barbed wire combination that was blocking off our path it was clear to see the issue. The required steps has collapsed. If there was an alternative way down to the lower terrace it was not easily apparent either to the eye or according to the GPS app. 

This was a disappointment. It was 32°C, we had no water and there was no sign of life anywhere near. Looking at Gunta as she looked at me, meant that my self-preservation instinct kicked in and I suggested that it was now a good time to abandon the search. An alternative route downhill, away from the intended Rue de la Gendarmerie was found and completed in stony silence.

Eventually after a five mile round trip, we made it back to the front and in a bar I did what I needed to do to save the marriage. At this point I rechecked my Facebook feed to find a post from a friend Gill, sharing information that would have been very well received two hours previously.

'Paul Cooklin and I visited in Oct 2024. We met with the current Chief of Police who remembers the incident well and remembers one of the policemen in the main picture. He was charming and said to look him up when we are next in Nice. The building is no longer there.'

'The building is no longer there'... I would have to pick the right time to impart this new nugget of information to Gunta.

Notwithstanding my cock-up, Nice was a remarkable place and well worth a visit (just leave your Stranglers' expectations back at home!). The sea really azure coloured... the front looks like a garish technicoloured image lifted from a 1960's travel brochure... very inviting.

Thanks to Wig, Gill and others for assistance in this matter! I will do better next time!