PARIS For the past 50 years, the venerable Jeanne d'Arc has had a career worthy of her name. She has toured the world, sailed to the rescue of populations in need and become a symbol of French military might.

But, if a bellicose group of activists get their way, the distinguished helicopter carrier could face a very different future when it is retired in May. Driven to distraction by private helicopters whirring above their homes, St Tropez residents are pushing for the icon of seafaring glory to become a landing strip for the international jet set.

The pressure group Halte Helico sees the ageing 180m-long hulk of the carrier as a potential solution to the problems they have been fighting for years. Jean-Claude Molho, its president, said “We thought it could be a good solution as there are already many landing strips for helicopters and we could also transform it into a hotel and restaurant to combine tourism with the practical issues.”

Ever since the rich and famous of St Tropez began using private helicopters as substitutes for taxis and landing in unofficial “helisurfaces” among local communities, Molho and his growing pressure group have battled to curb what they say are cowboy practices ruining their quality of life.

They have long argued that an official heliport in the sea would alleviate their troubles by providing operators with a central base, removing the need for pilots to fly illegally low over residential areas. With about 45,000 helicopter customers flying in every year, St Tropez has some of the busiest airspace in Europe.

Although it has received the backing of local politicians, residents and the French Helicopter Union (UFH), the transformation of the Jeanne d'Arc into a landing pad for glamorous summer visitors has faced some opposition.

Officials at the Marine Nationale have rejected the proposal as impossible. They cited the project's financial burden, which would include huge renovation works and asbestos removal that the navy would not pay for.

The scheme's proponents remain defiant, insisting that sponsors can be found. According to the UFH president, Gerard David, one Swiss hotel group has said it would pitch in 10 million euros.

“We cannot stop now as we have an urgent problem that needs to be solved,” said Molho, who acknowledges that the cost is an obstacle. “We are not laying down our arms yet.”

Others believe that, while the cost is a factor, the scheme will be torpedoed because of a clash of cultures. For them, the idea that the Jeanne d'Arc, which once went to the rescue of stranded Vietnamese refugees, could end up a servant of hedonistic nouveaux riches is unthinkable.

“I don't really see what's good about making the glorious Jeanne live amid the world of St Tropez, full of fat cats ... brainless celebrities, coke-heads and high-class hookers,” wrote one commentator in an internet forum.

However, another fate would be even worse for fans of the Jeanne. They fear that if no fixed plan is found for the decommissioned vessel it could end up like the Clemenceau, the once-mighty French aircraft carrier languishing in a “ghost ship” graveyard in Hartlepool, northern England.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service