The public rapporteur, an independent magistrate whose opinions must inform the administrative courts, is in favor of canceling the authorization for the works on the A69 motorway, in conclusions sent to the parties on Wednesday, November 20, with a view to a hearing on the fund before the administrative court of Toulouse on Monday.
According to the group of opponents of the La Voie est libre (LVEL) motorway project, the public rapporteur is in particular in favor of a complete annulment of the decree of 1Ahem March 2023 authorizing the connection of the A69 highway, in conclusions whose meaning was made known to the parties before the hearing, as authorized by the code of administrative justice.
According to its supporters, the future A69, a 53-kilometer stretch of motorway between Toulouse and Castres, aims to open up the south of the Tarn. Its construction has the support of several local elected officials and the president of the Occitania region, Carole Delga (Socialist Party). Environmental movements denounce the destruction of wetlands, agricultural lands, trees, ecosystems and groundwater, alleging that the current national highway, according to them, is far from being saturated. For several months, the work has been the subject of heated protests and there have been clashes between opponents and the police.
“A first round”
Alice Terrasse, lawyer for the LVEL group, confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) the content of the rapporteur’s conclusions, made available to the parties on the Sagace Internet platform for monitoring cases before administrative justice. According to meme Terrace, the speaker answers “the existence of an overriding reason of important public interest that justifies the work” of this road.
Contacted by AFP, Atosca, the future concessionaire of the highway and currently responsible for the site, did not refute or confirm the meaning of the public rapporteur’s conclusions, limiting itself to declaring: “The town councils of Atosca take note [de ses] conclusions and will appear before the administrative court at the hearing on November 25 to present its arguments in this case. »
According to Christine Arrighi, environmentalist deputy for Haute-Garonne and former president of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the legal and financial provisions of the A69 project, the rapporteur’s opinion is “extremely positive in the direction of our fight” against the road. “It is not a victory, it is a first round”He clarified, however, because the court is not bound by the rapporteur’s conclusions. Despite everything, according to the LVEL collective, “Environmental associations hope that this impartial legal advice will lead to an equally informed judicial decision”.
On Monday, the administrative court of Toulouse will examine four appeals on the merits against the motorway project, two of which are applications filed by France Nature Environnement for the annulment of the prefectural decrees authorizing the A69 and A680 motorway links. (link between the current A68 motorway and the future A69).
