Bordeaux (AFP)
The Council of State lifted Monday evening the last legal obstacle to the high-speed rail line project between Bordeaux and Toulouse, by rejecting the request for cancellation of declaration of public utility (DUP) demanded by a group of opponents.
This decision of the highest French administrative court thus paves the way for the creation of a high-speed line aimed at connecting Toulouse and Paris, via Bordeaux, in just over three hours compared to around 4:10 today.
This project for a TGV line from Bordeaux to Toulouse was declared of public utility (DUP) and urgent in 2016.
The Council of State had been seized by a collective of associations, elected officials and communities of Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne opposed to the project south of Bordeaux.
They contested the merits of the DUP for the section of the LGV linking the Bègles station to that of Saint-Médard d'Eyrans, about ten kilometers further south.
On the financing side, the State has pledged to pay 4.1 billion euros for the construction of this new line between Bordeaux and Toulouse, or about 40% of the total cost of the project.
The communities - regions, departments and agglomerations of Occitanie and New Aquitaine - should share the financing of 40% of this line, the remaining 20% to be supplemented by European funds, according to the project leaders.
A tour de table bringing together the main local funders of the line is scheduled for Tuesday evening, the New Aquitaine region told AFP.
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