Editorial photo #12068424 Environmental Issue

Last Hearings In Administratice Court And Gathering Against The Planned A69 Highway Between Toulouse And Castres

A man holds a placard reading 'Shareholders, rentiers, NGE, Atosca, money overload on 50 years'. People gather in Toulouse, France, on February 18, 2025, as plaintiffs (LVEL, Attac, Amis de la Terre, D'Ingrando, etc.) against the planned highway A69 between Toulouse and Castres go on 'administrative' trial against the French State along with the builder, NGE, and its concessionary Atosca. The last hearing (in theory) against the environmental authorization to build the A69 highway takes place at the Administrative Court of Toulouse. In December, surprising everyone, the judge decides to reopen the files instead of giving the court decision on the content. Alice Terrasse, the main lawyer for 'La Voie Est Libre' (opponents), pleads, among other things, that the main reason for building this highway, a 'Major Imperative for public interest,' is invalid, as did before the 'Rapporteur Public'. The 'Rapporteur Public' sticks to her position that all environmental authorizations should be nullified, taking down the ''Major Imperative for Public Interest.'' If confirmed, it will stop the building of the A69 highway. The main association 'La Voie est Libre' (i.e., 'The Way is Free'), opponents want the building of the highway to be stopped until all the justice decisions on the content are given. Opponents of this project say that the reprofiling of the N126 will be sufficient for the 6,000 vehicles planned per day and would cost far less money. The A69 highway will cost EUR512 million (in 2018 euros without the inflation) for 54 kilometers. (Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto)