Members of associations, mayors, deputy mayors, departmental advisers from the majority and the opposition, “all the actors are unanimous against this project for environmental reasons, for reasons of acceptance with this toll but also for economic reasons. Today, it is obsolete to think that social road traffic will generate an interesting activity for the Region and the territories of the Seine-Eure agglomeration or of the Rouen Metropolis “ CV Laetitia Sanchez, mayor of Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray and co-president of the Europe Écologie Les Verts group at the Normandy Regional Council. “We want to solve tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s solutions” abounds Richard Jacquet, the socialist mayor of Pont-de-l’Arche.

For Daniel Jubert, delegated municipal council of Louviers, community delegate and majority adviser to the departmental council of Eure, “it is a project that risks being useless because we know very well that transport companies instruct their drivers to avoid tolls”, with trucks that we find, according to the elected official, on the departmental roads, “which obliges us to redo them” and denounced a future high toll price.

The project, validated by Jean Castex on December 15, 2021, remains across the throat of the Communist mayor of Alizay and departmental councilor of Pont-de-l’Arche, Arnaud Levitre: “The government is reneging on its word since they had said that if elected officials and communities spoke out against it, they would not go any further” and to recall that the Métropole de Rouen Normandie voted against and that the departmental council of Eure and the Seine-Eure agglomeration voted against the financing of the project.

It’s a viaduct over a golf course – Janick Léger, mayor of Léry

Alternative solutions

The state swept aside the other options offered by the communities. “Credible alternative solutions in the Eure” believes Arnaud Levitre: “Ban the Incarville toll, develop public transport, develop rail and freight to transport raw materials to businesses and develop river docks, as is done in Alizay where the large port of Rouen has already funded the half of the project “. The bypass east of Rouen should make it possible to relieve traffic congestion in the Rouen metropolitan area, but Laetitia Sanchez hardly believes it: “90% of traffic is internal to the Metropolis” specifies the elected ecologist.

Municipalities want to file a complaint against the state

The Environmental Authority, in its opinion, considers 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per year emitted by future traffic. The commune ofAlizay consider filing a complaint against the state because the route will pass thirty meters from the new Angela Davis stadium, “a football club with two grass pitches, 450 licensees, a football school for our kids” Advises Mayor Arnaud Levitre:

If the project goes ahead, I ask the State to build another structure on the territory – Arnaud Levitre, mayor of Alizay

The commune of Val-de-Reuil also examines the filing of a complaint. “With Marc-Antoine Jamet, we are completely against this project and there will be several appeals with our lawyers” explains Benoît Balut, deputy mayor for Associations: “The route passes 150 meters from the cemetery and less than 300 meters from the Jesse Owens stadium” and bypassing Rouen will cut the Bord forest, a nonsense for Stéphanie Rousselin, deputy mayor of the ecological transition in Val-de-Reuil and community delegate to the Seine-Eure agglomeration: “All the actions, climate energy plan or forestry charter that we have implemented are in contradiction with the creation of a viaduct in the middle of our territory”.

A bypass fr contradiction with government commitments for the elected rolivaloise and for the mayor of Pont-de-l’Arche, “in particular the 17 sustainable development objectives. Today we are proposing a project which is the complete opposite of the meaning that we should give to public action” plague Richard Jacquet.

France has been condemned for climate inaction and, with this project, continues to go in the wrong direction – Richard Jacquet, mayor of Pont-de-l’Arche

Planned actions

The validation of the project by the Prime Minister sounds the mobilization of opponents, they still have to mobilize the population, “citizens must be aware” considers Maxime Bunel, the president of the association No to the highway. And several actions are planned in the calendar during the first quarter of 2020. A meeting, on January 8, in Rouen or Val-de-Reuil, the place remains to be defined with the political, associative and union actors then negotiations on the markets from Pont-de-l’Arche, Louviers and Val-de-Reuil on January 9, 15 and 21. A long walk between Val-de-Reuil and Alizay is scheduled for Saturday February 26 to join the stadiums of the two municipalities.