Simplification law: MPs vote to "secure" major projects like the A69

The Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal on Wednesday cleared the way for work on the motorway between Toulouse and Castres to restart, before issuing a final decision on the project in several months.

On February 27, to everyone's surprise, the Toulouse administrative court stopped the construction of this motorway, citing the absence of a "compelling reason of major public interest" (RIIPM), one of the conditions likely to justify attacks against the environment.

As part of the examination of the "simplification" bill, the deputies debated a mechanism aimed at avoiding this type of situation.

The government has proposed by amendment to allow the recognition of this RIIPM from the stage of the declaration of public utility of the project.

The idea is that the appeals all occur at the same time.

This "will make it possible to secure projects as early as possible in their design," argued Industry Minister Marc Ferracci, stressing that the possibility currently only exists for a "limited number of projects."

Tarn MP Jean Terlier (Renaissance) made a direct connection with the A69, a project of which he is one of the most ardent defenders, calling for the amendment to be voted on to "avoid this incongruity and this time lag (of) the protest."

"Only one appeal will be possible, directly to the Council of State in Paris, which takes away power from local courts," criticized Anne Stambach-Terrenoir (LFI). This "limits the right to appeal, and that is precisely what you are trying to endorse here," she said.

"They effectively avoid the multiplication of procedures before administrative courts and effects such as that of the A69 motorway," retorted Mr. Terlier.

The deputies even adopted a retroactive amendment, against the government's advice, so that this mechanism could apply to projects already authorized "before the entry into force" of the future simplification law.

The government also failed to pass an amendment making it optional for certain industrial projects to be submitted to the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP), one of the disputed points in these debates, even though the Council of State had already rejected a draft decree to this effect.