LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse. Why is the future train line already causing tensions?
Like many young people of her generation, Perrine tries to avoid flying as much as possible when traveling. Last week, however, she had to break this ecological commitment to which she holds to go to Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône). “With the plane, it only took me an hour,” says the Bordelaise. By train, the journey is more expensive and takes six hours. And again, this is a minimum, because unlike the TGVs, the Intercités are regularly late. » In the future, this trip should become more attractive for this 29-year-old marketing manager and other inhabitants of Gironde, since a high-speed line (LGV) between Bordeaux and Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) is in the works. Its promoters hope that it will connect the two cities in one hour and five minutes by 2032, compared to the two hours and five minutes needed today.
On paper, the business seems to be on track. Demolitions already took place last winter to allow railway developments south of Bordeaux and north of Toulouse. But like other major public works launched in recent years, this LGV is not sure to see the light of day. On October 12 and 13, 2024, around 1,000 people gathered at the call of the LGV Non merci collective and the Earth Uprisings to demonstrate their opposition.
A huge investment
“We call it the zombie project, because it has constantly come up for thirty years,” laughs Martin, who took to the streets with the other demonstrators. The public authorities are seeking to launch a disproportionate project, but at the same time, the small aspects of daily life are not properly maintained. Passengers will only save a short hour, in return for probably very high fares. » The bill will not only be hefty for users. The estimated cost of this new section amounted to 8.5 billion euros in 2020, to which must be added 900 million intended for railway developments on the outskirts of Bordeaux and Toulouse. And even more when taking inflation into account…
No matter, the State guaranteed that it would put its hand in its pocket to the tune of 4.1 billion euros. A considerable sum, especially since the Barnier government is on a spending spree. Local authorities would commit at the same level and the rest would be the responsibility of the European Union, although this latter financing is not assured. “This is an investment that we will smooth over forty years thanks to subsidized loans,” assures Alain Rousset, president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional council. “For the connected cities, this new line represents a huge gain in attractiveness, and therefore jobs.”
A fervent defender of the project, the elected official also highlights another advantage: the ecological aspect of this mode of transport. In his eyes, this future network will allow many travelers to avoid taking the car or the plane. But not only that: by developing rail freight, the surrounding highways would be less congested by trucks. The environmental argument does not sit well with Martin, an Earth Uprising activist: “The current route would lead to the artificialization of several thousand hectares, including centuries-old forests and wetlands representing a natural heritage to be preserved. » Indeed, it does not follow the already existing line identically and will pass further south, notably near the Ciron beech forest, the oldest forest in France.
Strong opposition
The future railway developments in the south of Bordeaux did not convince the National Nature Protection Council (CNPN), which issued an unfavorable opinion on the grounds that the project did not present “a net gain in biodiversity on the compensation sites concerned. Some of the opponents propose the renovation of the existing line, a slower solution but which they consider less expensive and harmful to the environment.
To find a solution, the mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic – opposed to the LGV – requests recourse to the National Commission for Public Debate. This authority has ensured citizen participation in the development of state policies since 1995, on an initiative by a certain… Michel Barnier, then Minister of the Environment in the government of Édouard Balladur. A group of local elected officials are calling for a local referendum to resolve the issue. It brings together an unprecedented team of parliamentarians from MoDem, Ecologists, La France insoumise, Republicans and the Socialist Party. Enough to make the Prime Minister dream, always looking for a majority.