A new giant shopping center is going to be built in Pacé, near Rennes. The elected ecologists of Rennes metropolis denounce a project "useless and harmful to the environment and local commerce".
A giant shopping center (- 40,000 m² of built area, 27,000 m² of commercial space, 14,000 parking spaces ...) will be inaugurated within a few months in the West Bank zone, in Pacé, near Rennes, which already hosts Ikea, the shopping center Cora-Opera, Truffaut ...
This project is carried by Compagnie de Phalsbourg, a major French independent investment company in commercial real estate, associated with the Blot Immobilier group. The Council of State gave its green light on Wednesday, December 5, rejecting the appeal of competitor Cap Malo, in Melesse.
In full COP 24!
For the ecologist members of Rennes Métropole, who have long been against this project and who had submitted a contribution to the public inquiry, it is a blow. "It is useless, harmful for the environment and local commerce , denounces Morvan Le Gentil, president of the environmental group of Rennes Métropole. This project is an aberration. At a time when society is finally becoming aware of the climate emergency, in the midst of COP 24, it is totally at odds with the development and society project that we must carry out. Individual car trips are still encouraged, even though it is precisely one of the habits we must evolve towards less harmful modes of transport for the air quality and the health of the inhabitants. "
A mastodon
For Morvan Le Gentil, this new shopping center will "destroy more natural and agricultural lands. This mastodon will waterproof the soil, intensifying the runoff of water and increasing the risk of flooding. By interrupting biological corridors, it will also hinder the circulation of wildlife, a precious ally of biodiversity. "
Morvan Le Gentil also highlights the risk for "local commerce and the right to Sunday rest. As we work to revitalize the downtown business in every town in the metropolis, it is a contradictory signal that is sent to the consumer. "