Demonstration against the A69 motorway project between Toulouse and Castres on April 22, 2023 near Soual, in Tarn (AFP/Archives/Lionel BONAVENTURE)
“Strength will remain with the law”: the government said Monday it was determined to carry out “to completion” the A69 motorway project between Toulouse and Castres, rejected by environmentalists.
“The State is determined to see this project through, which was decided democratically and systematically confirmed by the judge,” the Ministry of Transport said in a press release, “the work will continue from this Monday.”
This decision was taken after a meeting on Friday in Castres during which “a very large majority of local elected officials, legitimate representatives of the territory in our democracy, unambiguously reaffirmed their support for the motorway”, according to the same source.
When the meeting was announced, opponents of the project interrupted a thirst strike started the day before and a hunger strike started a month earlier.
Friday, to the jeers of around sixty opponents gathered around the sub-prefecture of Castres, Jean Terlier, Renaissance deputy for Tarn, welcomed a “very constructive” meeting and said he had received assurances that he would not There would be “neither moratorium nor suspension of the project” of the A69, which is scheduled to enter service in 2025.
“An in-depth dialogue was conducted. The support of the elected representatives of the Republic was reaffirmed. We must therefore move forward. I call on everyone to be responsible and respect democratic and legal decisions. Strength will remain with the law and the State of law”, affirmed the Minister for Transport, Clément Beaune, quoted in the press release on Monday.
Environmental activist Thomas Brail (D) and other activists are perched in their camp established in a tree in front of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, September 18, 2023 in Paris (AFP/Archives/Ludovic MARIN)
Several legal actions have been taken against the site, so far without success, but some are still ongoing.
– Future mobilization –
“The rule of law has been strictly respected at each stage of the procedure. The judge has so far dismissed all litigation brought against the project and, even recently, a request to suspend the work. All suspensive appeals have been judged and rejected,” argued the government.
Opponents of this 53 km section of motorway, which would reduce the Castres-Toulouse journey to approximately one hour instead of 1 hour 20 minutes, have called for a weekend of mobilization on October 21 and 22 on the route, without specifying the exact location. .
“No violence, no incitement to violence can be tolerated (…) in the context of actions that can be carried out individually or collectively,” the government warned on Monday.
Locally, the PS president of the Tarn departmental council, Christophe Ramond, considered that the motorway was “an absolute necessity for Tarn” and a factor in “opening up” the Castres-Mazamet population area.
In Tarn, added Mr. Ramond, families need a car or two every day. “Not because of a passion for cars, but because in our rural and mountainous areas, deprived of public transport, having a vehicle is essential for getting around.”
Demonstration against the A69 motorway project between Toulouse and Castres on April 22, 2023 near Soual, in Tarn (AFP/Archives/Lionel BONAVENTURE)
The opposition camp, for its part, received the support of a collective of 1,500 scientists, including experts from the IPCC, which brings together UN climate specialists, who published an article in the Obs assuring that “the A69 is one of those projects that must be abandoned.”
For its part, the government recalled on Monday that “an improvement in environmental support measures was again carried out this summer (increase in replanting, less artificial surface area)”.
In addition, “the work undertaken to improve the pricing conditions of the A69 for users and set up new low-carbon mobility services, such as the express coach project announced by the region or the cycle lane project desired by the associations and currently being studied by the department, will continue”, promised the Ministry of Transport: “All associations which wish will be able to take part”.
© 2023 AFP
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