There is a version of the French Riviera that is very easy to see.
It
is the version of superyachts sitting in the ports, luxury villas
behind gates, Michelin-starred restaurants, designer boutiques,
five-star hotels, glamorous beach clubs and sports cars winding their
way along the coast. It is the Riviera that appears on Instagram, in
travel magazines and in promotional campaigns selling the dream of the
Côte d’Azur to the rest of the world.
But after
living here long enough, you begin to notice another Riviera, one that
is considerably less glamorous but arguably just as interesting.
It
is the Riviera of people getting on the bus at 7:30 in the morning, the
person carrying a laptop onto the train, the chef heading into a
restaurant before lunch service, the cleaner arriving at an apartment
building with a bag of cleaning supplies, the lawyer rushing toward an
appointment, the hotel employee finishing a night shift, the student
with a backpack, the gardener loading equipment into a van, the
entrepreneur working from a café and the yacht crew member heading
toward a marina.
This is the Riviera that tourists
often don’t see (or do), yet it is enormous and it is what keeps the
region functioning day after day.
Living on
the Côte d’Azur, if you’re an observant people watcher like I am, public
transportation or just going for a walk becomes a rather interesting
place. Whenever I’m on a bus or train and have some time on my own, I
will sometimes try to guess what type of work someone might do.
Obviously, this is hardly scientific and I’m probably wrong plenty of
the time, but the time of day, the direction someone is travelling, what
they are carrying and even the neighbourhood they are heading toward
can sometimes provide clues.
Visitors, on the other
hand, are often surprisingly easy to pick out. They may be dressed
specifically for whatever they have planned that day, watching the
scenery go by with that unmistakable expression of someone taking
everything in, while simultaneously checking Google Maps and then
checking it again to make absolutely certain they haven’t missed their
stop. The locals are generally doing something quite different. They’re
travelling because they have somewhere they need to be.
That
simple distinction says a great deal about life on the French Riviera.
There is a tendency, particularly on social media, to talk about the
Côte d’Azur as though everyone living here must either be
extraordinarily wealthy or have somehow discovered a secret bank
account. Someone will inevitably post about how expensive the Riviera
is, followed by the inevitable question: “How does anyone actually
afford to live there?”
The answer is
considerably less glamorous than people might imagine. They work. Just
like people do where they probably come from. They work in restaurants,
hotels, hospitals, schools, offices, shops, construction,
transportation, technology, finance, real estate, law, tourism,
government, healthcare, education, entertainment, yachting and countless
other occupations.
They are employees,
freelancers, entrepreneurs, business owners, tradespeople,
professionals, students and people working remotely. In other words,
they are much like the people living almost anywhere else. The
difference is that they happen to be doing it beside the Mediterranean.
Tourism
is obviously a huge part of the regional economy, but reducing the
Riviera to tourism misses an enormous part of what actually happens
here. The Côte d’Azur has developed into a remarkably diverse economic
region, with industries ranging from technology and research to finance,
healthcare, education, manufacturing, real estate, professional
services, aviation, maritime industries and international business.
Take
Sophia Antipolis, for example. It is one of the clearest reminders that
the Côte d’Azur isn’t simply a place where people come to sit on
beaches. The technology and science park has become an important
international business and research centre, employing tens of thousands
of people across technology, telecommunications, research, engineering,
consulting and other industries. There are software developers,
engineers, scientists, researchers, project managers, accountants,
lawyers, marketing professionals and executives working there alongside
countless support businesses. Even Monaco has its own small tech sector.
There
are also people running small businesses from home, people working from
cafés and entrepreneurs who arrived specifically because they saw an
opportunity to build something here. Some have moved from Paris or
another part of France, while others have arrived from London, Milan,
Geneva, Brussels, North America or elsewhere in Europe. Some may have a
global business while others are serving a very local clientele.
This
is one of the reasons the Riviera can be deceptive. You can walk past a
luxury hotel and assume that tourism is the entire story, yet a few
kilometres away you can find technology companies, research facilities,
schools, medical centres, industrial businesses and professional
offices. The region is far more economically diverse than the postcard
suggests. It just doesn’t necessary shout out what is may be.
This
is where the story becomes particularly interesting. The Riviera has
developed an enormous ecosystem of businesses and professionals whose
work is often barely noticed by the people benefiting from it.
Consider
what happens when someone rents or owns a luxury villa. A guest may
arrive, walk through the front door and see an immaculate property with a
perfectly prepared kitchen, beautifully maintained garden, sparkling
pool and everything apparently in its place. What they don’t necessarily
see is the network of people responsible for making that happen.
There
may be a property manager coordinating the operation, a concierge
arranging the arrival, cleaners preparing the bedrooms, a gardener
maintaining the grounds, a pool technician taking care of the equipment,
an electrician or plumber dealing with an unexpected problem, a chef
preparing dinner, a chauffeur collecting guests from the airport and a
personal assistant arranging restaurants, activities, transportation and
reservations. There may also be security personnel, maintenance
contractors, laundry services, florists, caterers and dozens of other
specialists involved at different points.
The same
principle applies to the yacht industry. A superyacht sitting in Port
Hercules or Port Vauban may appear to be completely self-contained, but
behind that yacht is a vast network of people and businesses. There are
captains, engineers, deckhands, stewards, chefs, yacht managers,
brokers, shipyard workers, mechanics, electricians, provisioning
companies, laundry services, accountants, lawyers, insurance
professionals, recruitment agencies and countless others who contribute
to keeping the industry running.
The owner of the
yacht may live thousands of kilometres away, but maintaining, managing
and operating that yacht creates economic activity on the Riviera. The
same is true of luxury properties. The person who owns the villa may
spend only a few weeks here each year, but the property still requires
year-round attention.
This is what I mean by the
Riviera’s invisible economy. It isn’t invisible because anyone is
deliberately trying to hide it. It is invisible because visitors simply
don’t think about the people behind the services they receive.
The
answer is a remarkably long list. Villa managers, rental managers,
domestic staff, housekeepers, gardeners, pool technicians, maintenance
companies, chauffeurs, security personnel, personal assistants and
concierge businesses all form part of this ecosystem. So do yacht crew,
yacht brokers, marina employees, shipyard workers, mechanics and
maritime specialists.
Then there are the lawyers,
notaries, accountants, insurance professionals, architects, interior
designers, builders, electricians, plumbers, IT specialists,
photographers, event planners, wedding planners, private trainers,
beauty professionals, pet-care businesses and food suppliers who support
the wider economy.
What makes this particularly
interesting is that these businesses aren’t necessarily serving wealthy
people exclusively. The electrician who spends the morning fixing
lighting in an expensive villa might spend the afternoon repairing an
apartment in Nice. The plumber dealing with a problem at a luxury
property may be fixing a leak in an ordinary family home the following
day. A restaurant chef might prepare dinner for a wealthy international
clientele but return home to a perfectly ordinary apartment and live a
life that has little resemblance to the people sitting at the tables.
The
Riviera’s economy therefore shouldn’t be viewed simply as an economy
that exists to serve wealthy people. It is an interconnected economy in
which luxury spending is one component, but where the people employed by
that economy also spend their money in supermarkets, cafés,
restaurants, shops, schools, transport systems and local businesses.
Their income becomes part of the wider regional economy.
Perhaps
the biggest misconception about living here is that everyone you see
enjoying the Riviera is wealthy enough to own a piece of it. That simply
isn’t the case.
Someone can live in a relatively
modest apartment in Nice and work for an international company in Sophia
Antipolis. Someone can rent an apartment in Beaulieu-sur-Mer and work
in Monaco. Someone else might live farther inland because housing is
more affordable and commute toward the coast every morning. A successful
entrepreneur might rent rather than own property. A young professional
might share an apartment with friends. A family might have lived in the
region for generations.
There are doctors, nurses,
teachers, lawyers, engineers, accountants, retail workers, restaurant
employees, mechanics, construction workers, artists, designers,
administrative staff, civil servants, researchers, salespeople and
business owners. There are people who work for large multinational
corporations and others who operate businesses with only one or two
employees.
And then there are the people whose jobs are particularly tied to the seasonal nature of the Riviera.
The
Côte d’Azur attracts a significant number of people who don’t
necessarily live here all year. The summer season brings additional
workers into hospitality, tourism, yachting, events and luxury services.
A yacht crew member may spend the summer season on the Riviera before
moving elsewhere in the Mediterranean. A hospitality professional may
come for several months and then return home. A sales executive for a
major luxury brand may relocate temporarily during an important period
of the year. An events specialist may arrive for a particular
international event, while a photographer, production company or wedding
planner may spend several weeks here working on a specific project.
The
same thing happens around Monaco and the major international events
that take place throughout the region. Someone may have their permanent
home somewhere else in Europe but spend considerable portions of the
year on the Côte d’Azur because their company, clients or industry
requires them to be here.
The Riviera’s economy is
therefore considerably more fluid than simply looking at the number of
permanent residents would suggest. People arrive for projects, seasons,
contracts, conferences, events and business opportunities, and many
return year after year.
One
of the most fascinating groups I find to observe is the entrepreneurs.
The Côte d’Azur attracts people who have deliberately decided that they
want to build something here, and their backgrounds can be remarkably
diverse.
Some have moved from Paris or other major
French cities. Others have arrived from Britain, Italy, Switzerland,
Germany, the United States, Canada and elsewhere. Some are launching
technology companies, while others are opening restaurants, creating
tourism businesses, establishing consulting firms, working in property,
developing lifestyle brands or building businesses connected to yachting
and the maritime sector.
But there is an important
reality that can easily get lost in the glamour of the region: living
somewhere beautiful does not make building a successful business easy.
In
fact, operating in a competitive international environment can be
incredibly demanding. The people who succeed often develop strong
professional networks and understand the importance of reputation,
reliability and relationships. A property consultant knows an architect.
The architect knows a builder. The builder knows an electrician. The
electrician knows a property manager. The property manager knows a
concierge company. The concierge knows a chauffeur. The chauffeur knows a
restaurant owner. The restaurant owner knows a yacht captain.
That network is part of the Riviera economy too.
Another
interesting characteristic of the Côte d’Azur is how many people arrive
here because their company or profession is international. The region’s
proximity to Monaco, Italy and other major European business centres
makes cross-border work relatively common, while Nice Côte d’Azur
Airport provides connections that allow people to live here while
maintaining professional relationships elsewhere.
Someone
might live in France but work in Monaco. Another person might have an
employer based in London but work from the Riviera for part of the year.
A business executive might divide their time between Nice, Paris and
Milan. Someone working in international finance might regularly travel
to Geneva or London. A technology professional could be employed by a
multinational company with colleagues scattered across several
countries.
The result is a workforce that is often considerably more international than outsiders might expect.
There is another group that rarely gets included in discussions about who lives on the French Riviera: students.
Universities
and higher-education institutions in Nice, Sophia Antipolis and the
surrounding region attract students from other parts of France as well
as international students. Some come for an exchange semester, some for a
year and others for an entire degree programme. Internships also bring
young people into the region for periods ranging from a few weeks to
several months.
For many, spending a year studying on
the Riviera is about much more than obtaining a qualification. It can
be an opportunity to experience another culture, improve language
skills, live independently, meet people from different countries and
develop an international professional network before entering the
workforce.
Some students arrive thinking they will
stay for a year and discover that they don’t want to leave. Others
return home with an international experience that influences the rest of
their careers. Either way, they become part of the temporary but
constantly changing population that gives the Riviera much of its
international character.
There is something almost poetic about travelling by train along the coast.
On
one side you may see the Mediterranean, yachts and spectacular villas.
On the other side are apartment buildings, commercial areas,
construction sites, schools and ordinary neighbourhoods. Inside the
train are hundreds of completely different lives, all temporarily
occupying the same carriage.
Someone may be heading
to work at a five-star hotel. Another person may be going to a
technology company. Someone may be travelling to a construction site,
while another is heading to university. One person may be going to clean
an apartment, another to meet a client about buying property and
someone else may be travelling to the airport to collect a client.
Someone may be returning from a night shift, while another is on their
way to open a restaurant.
And, of course, there is
always someone who looks as though they have absolutely no idea where
they’re going. Which is also perfectly fine. Dreamers also help make up
the Riviera.
They also may simply be tourists on the train, which is always a welcome sight.
The
French Riviera is often presented as a place where the wealthy come to
spend money, and there is certainly truth to that to an extent. Luxury
tourism, international property, yachting, hospitality and high-end
services are important parts of the regional economy. But stopping the
story there misses what makes the Côte d’Azur a real place rather than
simply a luxury destination.
The Riviera is also a
place where people build careers, start companies, raise families,
study, commute, retire, create businesses and pursue opportunities. It
is a place where people from completely different economic backgrounds
live alongside one another, sometimes in very different circumstances
but within the same relatively small geographical area.
The
person sitting beside you on the bus may work in finance. The person
standing next to them may be a cleaner. Someone across the aisle may be
an engineer. The student beside them may have arrived from another
country for a year of university. The person getting off at the next
stop may be heading to a restaurant kitchen, a construction site, a law
office or a yacht.
And that is perhaps the real secret economy of the French Riviera.
It
isn’t just about the people who can afford the villas, yachts and
luxury hotels. It is about the thousands of people whose work keeps
those industries operating, alongside the thousands more whose jobs have
nothing whatsoever to do with luxury.
The Côte
d’Azur isn’t one economy. It is dozens of economies layered on top of
one another, from technology and research to hospitality, construction,
healthcare, education, retail, finance, professional services,
transportation, yachting, tourism and small business.
The luxury economy may be the most visible layer, but it is only one part of the story.
The
next time you’re sitting on a bus or train or walking down the street
on the French Riviera, look around. The people sitting around you are
not simply background characters in someone else’s luxury holiday.
They
are the people who live here, work here, study here, build businesses
here, raise families here and, in countless different ways, make the
Riviera what it actually is.
