Toulouse: new standoffs on the 3rd metro line
The majority of the city council of Toulouse gave this Tuesday a favorable opinion on the environmental component of the 3rd metro line in the face of opposition to the new climb to attack the project.
The long road to the commissioning of the 3rd Toulouse metro line, promised for the end of 2028, is an eternal obstacle course. If, this Tuesday, during an extraordinary municipal council, the Toulouse majority gave a favorable opinion with a view to the environmental authorization necessary before the start of the work, the flagship project of Tisséo was again the target of the groups of the ‘opposition.
27 km long, will the 3rd line bring an environmental benefit by removing enough cars from the road? No, answers straight away, for the municipalist group, Aymeric Deheurles who, in the wake of environmentalist associations, brandishes a carbon footprint “positive in 2085 or never” because of the environmental impact of the construction site and a traffic reduction forecast of only “3%”, according to the air quality monitoring agency ATMO. The municipal councilor denounces the “false figures” and “bogus” of Tisséo whose elected officials are counting on a positive balance sheet after seven years. For the environmental group, Hélène Cabanes also sees “inconsistencies” in the greenhouse gas balance sheet and “approximations” on the management of the cuttings, their possible pollution, the number of trees cut, etc.
The elected socialist Vincent Gibert rushed into the debate to express his doubts about the timetable – “3.5 years of work, that is not serious” -, the financing, the nuisances of the site and the very “relevance” of the project.
“Not your 3rd line”
To these criticisms, the majority first responded on the merits. “You take as a reference a model for evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from the site, which is that of Greater Paris” and which cannot be duplicated in Toulouse, argued Maxime Boyer. The elected official defended the figures of Tisséo against those of associations which, according to him, are confused with the opposition. “No one can believe that carbon neutrality will not be achieved,” added François Chollet. “Would it be the only line in the world that wouldn’t bring anything?” asked Jean-Michel Lattes, chairman of Tisséo, in turn, during a press briefing after the board meeting.
Undoubtedly annoyed by the opposition’s repeated positions in recent weeks, the majority had also planned a political response which took the form of a guerrilla series of questions. The elected representatives of the opposition were summoned to quantify their “emergency plan”, their “half-3rd line” or “the RER”. And to say, in the end, if they were for or against the 3rd line. A debate in the form of a “masquerade”, denounced Romain Cujives. “We are for the principle of the 3rd line. But not your 3rd line, ”replied Odile Maurin. This was what Jean-Luc Moudenc wanted to hear: “Toulousans were able to see the hypocrisy of those who fight the 3rd line without assuming it. »