Construction on half-built motorway can continue, rules French court
It is the latest court decision concerning the highly-contested and much-debated A69 road
The decision is the latest in a long line of suspensions and restarts on the controversial project
A view of the existing road between Toulouse and Castres
Spech / Shutterstock
Construction on the highly-controversial A69 motorway in the southwest of France can continue, the Toulouse Court of Appeal has said, after legal battles last paused the project in February.
The court suspended a decision from February 27, which had stopped work on the road. The court had been requested to suspend the order by the state. A definite decision on the project (as opposed to just a suspension) is still expected in the coming months.
Read also: Court rules that half-built motorway in south-west France is ‘illegal’ and stops work
Read more: Controversial A69 motorway in doubt as court assesses environmental impact
The A69 motorway is set to link the Occitanie capital of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) to Castres (Tarn), but it has attracted major opposition and legal challenges for years, particularly from environmental groups and local residents.
Many claim that the 53km stretch of motorway is not needed and that the investment should be put into the region’s existing road infrastructure instead.
‘Public interest’ vs ‘important cities’?
The February 27 order had come as a surprise, with the Toulouse Administrative Court then saying that there was no “compelling reason of major public interest” justifying the environmental damage caused by the A69. This is an argument constantly advanced by critics of the road.
Yet, on May 21, during the hearing before the administrative court of appeal, the public rapporteur said he was in favour of resuming construction, stating that the importance of the cities of Castres, Mazamet and Toulouse justified “by their very nature that they be connected by fast road infrastructure”.
Work to resume
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot has now said that “work will resume gradually from mid-June”, and expressed his “relief” at the latest decision.
Atosca, the project manager and future concessionaire of the motorway, is now “organising itself with a view to effectively resuming work on the A69”, the company said in a statement. The aim is to “restore, in conjunction with the state, all the conditions necessary to return as quickly as possible to the level of activity prior to 27 February”, it said.
The court of appeal’s decision comes five days before a vote in parliament (already adopted by the Senate on May 15), on whether to authorise continued construction without waiting for a further decision from the court. Opponents have said that this bill is “unconstitutional”.
Read also: French government appeals court ban to resume A69 motorway construction
Critics to mount further protests
Critics of the project are now calling for a demonstration against the work’s restarting on Wednesday evening (June 4). This will include the environmental campaign group La Voie est Libre.
Alice Terrasse, a lawyer and spokesperson for the group, said that “there is no project that ‘by its very nature’, would have an overriding public interest.”
The group has now said that it will refer the matter to the Conseil d’Etat (supreme administrative court).
Since work began in March 2023, environmental activists have sought to block construction, including by occupying trees to prevent them from being felled, and attempted to set up ZADs (zones à défendre, ‘zones to defend’) along the route.
They have also organised rallies of thousands of people which have sometimes seen clashes with opponents and police. Further protests are now expected.
