the slowdown in certain communities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
A hard blow for the Bordeaux-Dax-Toulouse high-speed line (LGV) project. During a meeting on its funding by the communities of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, three departments and a community of agglomeration refused to confirm, for the moment, their participation.
“It was a first approach. Everyone is in agreement with the project as such, but there are still some discussions and adjustments.“The vice-president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Renaud Lagrave, is rather satisfied but does not go into more detail. On Tuesday September 28, an important phase of the Bordeaux-Dax-Toulouse high-speed line project began. The communities of Nouvelle-Aquitaine concerned by this infrastructure were brought together at the prefecture of Bordeaux, under the aegis of Etienne Guyot, prefect of the Occitania region, commissioned by the government to coordinate this major railway project in the South-West.
Refusal of four communities
The press release sent jointly by the services of the State and of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, two days later, to the local newsrooms does not provide more information.
The coordinating prefect and the president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region notably cited the benefits of the project in terms of time savings for travelers, intermodal transfer and carbon footprint. The vast majority of the communities gathered are aware of the opportunity presented by the Bordeaux-Dax stage.
You have to know how to read between the lines. Car if “the vast majority of the communities gathered are aware of the opportunity presented by the Bordeaux-Dax stage“, many of them do not accept what the state is trying to impose on them in terms of funding.
“Unacceptable requests”
“The demands are really unacceptable and unbearable“thundered the president of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Jean-Jacques Lasserre. The elected Béarnais is not the only one to be dissatisfied with this meeting. The departments of Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde and the agglomeration of Agen refused on Tuesday to make a financial commitment to participate in the GPSO (Large Southwest Railway Project).
According to our information, for example between 80 and 120 million euros would be requested from the Lot-et-Garonne department. “The cost of 8 new colleges!“chokes a source close to the file. The amount for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques would be close to 300 million euros.”We all agree: this project is a necessity. But we, the departments, have lost our economic and transport skills to the benefit of the Regions, underlines President Lasserre. In view of these developments, it seems unacceptable to us to commit such sums.“The former senator also recognizes it. Very marked by the construction of the Tours-Angoulême-Bordeaux section where the former Poitou-Charente region of Ségolène Royal”had not paid a penny“, he leaves with a”confidence deficit“as is in this case.
The PS president of the Gironde department, Jean-Luc Gleyze had already announced it several weeks ago. He did not give the green light. The president of the agglomeration of Agen, Jean Dionis, calls for “road counterparts“, as the daily report South West.
A 13 billion euros project
“The unprecedented opportunity that must be seized“repeated at will by the Region and the prefecture of Occitanie is also struggling to pass to several elected officials.
The horizon seemed to be clearing up in recent days for this project. The Council of State came to reject, Monday, September 27, the request for cancellation of the declaration of public utility (DUP) of a group of opponents. For their part, the communities of Occitania had undertaken to put on the table 3 billion euros, including 1.2 billion for the region alone.
The urgency to find an agreement
The total cost of the GPSO is estimated at 13 billion euros (9 for Bordeaux-Toulouse, 4 for Bordeaux-Dax). The State would provide 40% of this envelope, Europe 20%, and the communities 40%.
According to Southwest, “the share of neo-Aquitaine communities would reach 1.6 billion euros“with depreciation over 36 years. Far too much for the” rebels “of Nouvelle-Aquitaine who are waiting for the Regions and the State to take charge of a larger share of these investments. The departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Lot-et -Garonne will submit to the debate of their respective assemblies their participation in the GPSO before giving their final position on this subject Public financing company which manages the money managed for the project.