Investigation into the acquisition of land in the Pyrénées-Orientales for the construction of a contested golf course

Confirming information from the local press, the public prosecutor told AFP that he had opened this investigation following complaints from associations and a report from the department's prefecture, under article 40 of the code of criminal procedure.

The association Agissons 66, which has filed several complaints, believes that the transactions surrounding the acquisition of land for the golf project could reveal facts of illegal taking of interest, embezzlement of funds and fraud in public procurement.

More specifically, according to La Gazette du Roussillon, it would involve purchases and resales of land to elected officials, outside the prices requested in the context of expropriation and resales at a loss for the municipality, as well as the absence of calls for tender for development work.

The investigation was entrusted to the research section (SR) of the Montpellier gendarmerie, the prosecutor said.

This project for a complex around an 18-hole golf course, which also includes 600 homes, is strongly contested by several environmental associations and elected officials, in a department which in recent years has been affected by a persistent drought.

Visiting the sector in May 2024, the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, described it as “anachronistic”.