A69 due to open in south-west France and work starts on A412

France’s two newest autoroutes have hit the headlines after the opening of the A69 between Castres and Toulouse was delayed again, and work started on the A412, while judges were still considering objections to it.

Protesters including local residents, and farmers have been going out daily in October to try and stop tree cutting along the 16 km, A412 route between Thonon les Bains in Haute Savoie and the French suburbs of Geneva.

“There is a group of 500 people prepared to go out to try and stop the machines , and they do it in relays during the week when they can juggle it with work,” Anne Lassman-Trappier, president of France Nature Environnement Haute-Savoie told The Connexion.

“Usually there are a dozen protesters at least on site but the machines are protected by gendarmes and they cut up to a hectare a day – while we are still challenging the environmental document signed by the préfet.”

At weekends, families travel to the site for festive protests.

‘Last march’ against A69

The A69, which was originally scheduled to open in September, saw a revised opening date of mid October also pass, and local media reports say it will now open in early November. 

At the same time, around 1,000 protestors held a peaceful “last march” at the site earlier this month.  

They hiked towards the woodland site, now destroyed, where people lived in treehouses for over a month in a bid to stop the road.

Prices for the 53km new autoroute  were published by the operator Atosca, which said a return trip between Castres and Toulouse would cost car drivers €17.

There are no toll booths on the road and users pay either with a badge, by cash at a tobacconist within three days of using the road, or online.

Tariff ‘fiasco’

During most of the construction period, local authorities who strongly supported the project, said they thought the return price would be around €13.

Part of the reason for the €17 tariff was a ruling by France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, that a 33% subsidy on tolls proposed by a grouping of local authorities, was illegal.

“It is a fiasco for the wallets of people using the A69 and the state is responsible,” said the president of Tarn department Christophe Ramond, a member of the opposition socialist party.

He signed a joint letter protesting against the toll prices, which was sent to the government and which called for an “urgent meeting” to find a way to lower prices.

Tolls on French autoroutes are set after negotiations between the government and operators, who typically have 30 years to cover the cost of building the autoroute, operating it and keeping shareholders happy.

One of Toulouse’s parliamentary deputies, Christine Arrighi, who is a member of the Les Ecologistes – EELV group in parliament, strongly opposed the A69 and took part in the October protest.

She told AFP: “I deplore that after shouting out their complete support for this environment-killing,  and ruinously expensive project, while running down anyone who opposed it, these elected authorities say they are surprised, and find the tariffs exorbitant.” 

As the reporter of a parliamentary group which looked into the financing of the project, she had argued that the 33% subsidy proposed by local authorities was illegal because it substantially modified the terms of the contract which Atosca won in a public tendering process.

A412 battle goes on

For the A412 autoroute, Ms Lassman-Trappier said the 20 environmental groups, farmers, hunters and individuals who formed a co-operative were determined to continue the legal process.

“They are cutting the trees and causing irreversible damage, but they still have not dug up the roots, or yet started the huge earthworks which will destroy pastures and wetlands,” she said.

“We cannot just accept that they can force their way through local opposition, which is why we are continuing court action.”

Another case brought by the city of Geneva was due to be held at the end of October.

Geneva helped pay for upgrades to the railway line between Thonon les Bains and the city, and says the money spent on the autoroute should be better spent on improving rail services.

Local authorities say the main road between Thonon les Bains and Geneva, which is a mix of two lanes and four lanes, is used by up to 20,000 vehicles a day, and the autoroute is needed for safety reasons.

“There are daily traffic jams as workers go to and from Geneva, where wages are three times higher than in France,  but that is the same around most cities,” said Ms Lassman-Trappier.

“The local authorities seem stuck in a 1980s mindset, when the autoroute was first mentioned, and do not see the world has changed, no doubt because of the powerful lobbies from roadbuilders and financiers who will profit from it.”

A court case against the environmental authorisation by the state is still continuing, with a judgement due in June 2027.

Other road projects in France

Another  autoroute project, the A31bis, which is a 7km road, including a 2.8km tunnel between Richemont in Moselle department and the Luxembourg border, is also provoking opposition as it reaches final planning permission.

Opponents say it is unnecessary and too expensive, with compulsory purchases of factory buildings needed for the tunnel.

Work on the road is due to start in 2030 as part of a project which will see the A31 widened from four lanes to six.

Other autoroute projects which have been approved include a widening of the A10 near Poitiers from four lanes to six, a similar widening of the A13 in Normandy,  and turning part of the N12 into an autoroute called the A120 near Dreux, also in Normandy.

Around Arles in Bouches-du-Rhône department there is a project to add a by-pass to the A54 autoroute, and in Gironde department there is a plan to widen the A63 from four lanes to six.