Environmental activists opposed to a giant warehouse project in Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe, near Toulouse, won their case. Justice temporarily suspended, Thursday, January 17, a prefectural decree which authorized the site.
Seized by a request for interim suspension by the associations France Nature Environnement Midi-Pyrénées and Saint-Sulpice Active et Citoyenne, the administrative court of Toulouse ordered the suspension on Thursday “until a decision has been taken on the merits”. This order authorized the start of work on the Portes du Tarn concerted development zone (ZAC), “an industrial business park”, according to his supporters.
“It’s a big win for us. (…) and for all those who have been fighting for years against (…) this ecocidal and climaticidal symbol that is the giant Terra 2 warehouse project”welcomed Friday on Twitter the collective Stop Terra 2.
Appeal in cassation
Associations and environmental activists, who have identified dozens of protected species at the construction site, fear that this 7-hectare warehouse will be rented to an e-commerce giant like Amazon. In February, activists briefly blocked the site and took part in various demonstrations against the project.
” This decision [de justice] strengthens us in the legitimacy of our actions, and we will continue to challenge elected officials, block other projects if necessary, because many projects serve neither the interest of the populations nor that of our environment “underlined in a press release several associations, including Attac or ANV COP 21. “We are asking the prefecture to enforce the law by closing the site”they added.
The SPLA (for “local public development company”) of the Portes du Tarn, including several local shareholder communities, has announced that it will appeal to the Court of Cassation.
On February 10, she accused the associations of peddling “false allegations”. She assures that he “there will never be an e-commerce giant set up on this site, nor companies coming to threaten local jobs”according to the press release signed in particular by the president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, or the presidents of the departments of Tarn and Haute-Garonne.