When catherine de' Medici of florence married Henry of France in 1533 and moved to paris she cook imported and brigade of Italian cooks and her pastry chef, and their influence - and many foods they brought with them - certainly had lasting impact on the evolution of French cooking.
In any event, Nicois is the France adjective for "of Nice" , the large French city on the Mediterranean. The salad is based on green beans, tomatoes, hard - cooked eggs, anchovies, ripe olive, tuna, a vinaigrette, and may include lettuce, caper and occasionally some other ingredients. Althought it is certainly a Mediterranean creation and Nice is barely 15 miles from the Italian border.