The Council of State is due to meet on Tuesday in order to give an opinion to the government, before it issues a decree for the creation of the public establishment which will pilot the project.
Several associations, however, denounce a financing plan “deeply risky and seriously unbalanced for local authorities.
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“If our observations were not taken into account, there would be immediate recourse to administrative justice” warns the Bordeaux association TransCub.
There is, according to them, a risk of financial derailment of the file of the LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse and Bordeaux-Dax (also called GPSO).
Three associations, Sepanso Gironde, Friends of Barthos (both specializing in nature protection) and TransCub (consumer defense) announced Monday, during a press conference, that they had sent a letter with nine other associations to the Council of State to "inform him of several anomalies observed".
These twelve federations claim to represent a total of “a hundred associations.
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The Council of State must examine Tuesday the financing plan of the GPSO project, before the creation by the government of the public establishment in charge of piloting the project, by April 24.
The opinion of the Council of State will however only be advisory, and will not necessarily be made public.
In the document addressed to it, the associations specify giving “elements of appreciation to advise the government”.
"If our observations were not taken into account, and the government took its decree, there would be immediate appeal to administrative justice," warns Denis Teisseire, of the TransCub association.
This high-speed line project, which should save an hour's journey from Paris to Toulouse and twenty minutes to Dax, is estimated at 14.3 billion euros.
Its funding is provided for 40% by the State, 40% by local authorities in Occitania and New Aquitaine and 20% by the European Union.
Faced with the refusal of several communities to participate in the financing, the financial round table could not however be completely completed.
This is why the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region validated an additional contribution of 225.6 million euros, all elected officials, with the exception of the environmental groups and National Rally, having voted for this financial “advance”.
“We ask that local authorities be brought to the same level as SNCF Réseau”
For Denis Teisseire, this financing plan remains incomplete, and above all it is “deeply risky and seriously unbalanced for local authorities.
"" We can speak of a leonine contract, which reserves the lion's share to SNCF Réseau to the detriment of local authorities, he accuses.
It is a one-way trip, because the local authorities do not actually know what their respective contributions will be, and do not know the amounts of the European subsidies, which are far from certain, and which will be their responsibility if they are not not by appointment.
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On the other hand, he underlines, “SNCF Réseau will only commit once the preliminary projects are known and the costs are under control, not before.
We ask, at a minimum, that local authorities do not have to commit immediately and irreversibly, and logically that they can wait to know the amount of European subsidies and the cost of the operation.
They must be put on the same level as SNCF Réseau.
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Tax benefits, “good fortunes” that raise doubts
The associations are also surprised to see in the State financing plan a “commitment of Bordeaux Métropole of 550 million euros” when this community “voted a subsidy of 354 million euros.
It is in fact 550 million, after deducting the fallout from the new tax revenue expected from the LGV.
A local public establishment (EPL) must indeed levy new taxes, backed by property taxes and housing taxes on second homes, in municipalities located less than an hour from a station served by the LGV.
Recipes qualified as “good luck” by the associations which are, here too, very dubious.
“Finally, the last point is the incredible conditions in which the participation of the New Aquitaine region was voted, protests Denis Teisseire.
Councilors only got the details the day before the vote, when the region's stake was increased by 225 million euros – not a straw.
They should have been informed twelve days before.
For us, the elements are gathered for a cancellation of this deliberation.
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“The fire smolders under the ashes”
More than a simple postponement of the financial commitments of the communities, these associations aim above all to abandon the project.
“All the associations are fiercely opposed to this project and have decided to derail it,” says Philippe Barbedienne, from Sepanso.
Now declared to be of public utility, it can no longer be challenged on the merits.
“On the other hand, it is still topical to contest the financing of this project” continues Philippe Barbedienne.
“Eleven signatory associations representing more than 100 associations is quite exceptional, adds Denis Teisseire, and this proves the mobilization against this project.
The fire smolders under the ashes.
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The GPSO project, on the other hand, is ardently defended by several elected officials, at the head of which the president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region Alain Rousset, and the president of Occitanie Carole Delga.
It is "an investment for a century, the response to the motorway congestion of Bordeaux" assures for example Alain Rousset, who also sees in this old project, relaunched last year by the government, a means of developing rail freight .
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LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse: New taxes and disagreements on subsidies, the financing of the GPSO turns into a puzzle
Economy
Aquitaine
Toulouse
Bordeaux
Transport
TGV
LGV South-West
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