A public inquiry will be conducted from Wednesday until October 23 on Cigeo, the nuclear waste landfill project in Bure (Meuse), the commission responsible for this investigation announced on Tuesday, September 14.
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Conducted by an independent commission made up of five members appointed by the administrative court of Nancy, this investigation is a preliminary step to a possible declaration of public utility of this controversial project led by the National Agency for the management of radioactive waste (Andra) .
For five weeks, the commission will collect the opinions of people interested or opposed to the project, through physical and telephone hotlines, and a dedicated website. In its report that it will submit at the end of November, the committee will issue a favorable or unfavorable opinion: "
This is not an authorization for works but a recognition of the general interest of the project
", specified its president Claude Bastien during a press conference. "
We hope that democracy will be able to express itself, it is important for everyone to express themselves
", he added.
If the Cigéo project obtains a declaration of public utility, Andra will be able to "
acquire the land, if necessary by expropriation
", clarified Claude Bastien.
The agency said it still had 120 hectares of land to acquire.
"Simulacrum of democracy"
The associations opposed to this project have expressed their skepticism in the face of this public inquiry, described in particular as a "
vast hoax
" and "a
sham of democracy
" by the Collective against the burial of radioactive waste (Cedra). "
We can only denounce the public inquiry, it is a regulatory phase that in no way calls into question the project
" Cigéo, explained to AFP Juliette Geoffroy, spokesperson for the collective. “
We cannot encourage people to participate in this process which will not address fears,
” she added. "
We will mobilize during the public inquiry to say all the good that we think about it
“, Meanwhile quipped Jean-Marc Fleury, spokesperson for the Association of elected officials opposed to the project (Eodra).
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The anti-nuclear collectives have planned three days of mobilization from Wednesday to Friday in the municipalities of the Meuse around Bure.
Michel Marie, member of Cedra and former spokesperson for the collective, is "
not under any illusions
": "
We know that the green light will be given because it is a state project
", he says, but he still calls to participate in this investigation.
“
We have to make ourselves heard: the arguments of citizens end up making things happen,
” he stressed.
Several national public debates have already been organized, particularly in 2013 and 2019, and have been the subject of strong criticism by opponents, who felt they were not heard. The Cigeo project aims to bury, 500 meters underground, 85,000 m3 of the most radioactive waste from the French nuclear fleet, from 2035.
