A divisive project.
The future eastern bypass of Rouen, a veritable sea serpent, is arousing strong opposition even though the construction machinery is not even on site yet.
This new section of motorway, which would consist of two lanes, would link the A28 and the A13 and would measure almost 41 kilometres.
If the schedule remains unchanged, the road should be built as early as 2031.
This Saturday, May 6, several environmental movements, including "The Uprisings of the earth" and the collective "
No to the A133-A134
", have made an appointment to protest against the construction of this highway.
A story that has lasted forty years
If the project has been on the table since the 1980s, it was in 2017 that it took a new turn by being declared of "
public utility
".
In 2020, the Council of State rejected all the appeals that had been filed by the collective "
Non à l'A133-A134
" and by elected officials hostile to the project.
The latter was then identified as one of the “
four priority motorway projects
at the national level by the mobility orientation law of December 24, 2019
”.
In December 2021, Jean Castex, Prime Minister at the time, officially validated it on behalf of the State.
The government justified the construction of this highway by the need "
to divert from the heart of the agglomeration a large part of the transit and exchange traffic, in particular of heavy goods vehicles
", to "
decongest the roads penetrating the agglomeration
" and to improve "
the links between the Rouen agglomeration and the 'eure
'.
Several Norman economic players have widely welcomed these decisions.
The Rouen Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) sent a letter to Élisabeth Borne on May 3 to demand faster progress and guarantees, reports
France Bleu
.
“
For businesses, for the metropolis, for attractiveness, for training.
We have been waiting for quality services for too long
”, said Vincent Laudat, specify from the CCI Rouen Métropole, reports France 3. A motorist spends “
100 hours a year in traffic jams in Rouen
”, he also added by pointing the finger at the construction of the city, consisting of “
penetrating roads
” which cause heavy traffic.
Beyond saving time, the Renaissance group also defended the idea of a lesser ecological impact: this project will make it possible to "
develop the metropolis and reduce atmospheric pollution
", underlined the deputy of the majority of the Seine-Maritime, Damien Adam before adding: “
For 1 hectare taken, it will be necessary to “renature” 3 hectares, which will make it possible to rehabilitate wastelands.
And we can encourage economic players to settle in unattractive land
,” reports
Le Monde
.
Thus, there would be no contradiction with the zero net artificialisation objective required by the Climate and Resilience Law of August 2021, according to him.
Read alsoCastres-Toulouse motorway: 62 km of hopes and opposition
“Avoid police checks”
But for some groups and politicians, the ecological cost is still too high.
In total, nearly 41.5 kilometers of highway would be built, requiring the artificialization of more than 500 hectares including 269 hectares of agricultural land and 142 hectares of forest, informs us the public inquiry report.
The financial cost is also disturbing.
The financing of the project, estimated at 886 million euros according to the latest data dating from 2015, would be shared between the State, local authorities and concessionaires.
The opposition therefore wants to be virulent.
The collective "
No to the A133-1134 motorway
" is preparing four processions for this Saturday, May 6, "
guided by the four totem species of the Bord forest threatened by the motorway project
": the Pic Mar procession, the Muscardin procession , the Great Crested Triton procession and the Great Capricorn procession.
This event is also part of a rally that will last four days.
The Festival "
Sticks in the road
" takes place near Léry from May 5 to 8 and aims to unite opponents of the motorway project.
On the program: round tables, film screenings, demonstrations and a “
great country picnic
”.
Monday, May 8 will be devoted to the general meeting of opponents of the project.
The collective "
No to the A133-1134 motorway
" has already published on
a number to contact to "
avoid police checks
", which are "
to be expected around the camp
".
Other environmental organizations support the rally, such as "
The rout of the roads
” or “
Naturalists of the lands
”.
Fear of a “ZAD”
The PS mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, opposed to the project, said at the microphone of 76actu that there was "
a strong probability, a real risk
" that this opposition will become a "
ZAD
".
However, this demonstration comes a few weeks after the very violent clashes in Sainte-Soline against the water basins, which left more than 200 injured and after which the Minister of the Interior declared that "no more
ZAD
" would settle in the country.
“
Neither in Sainte-Soline, nor elsewhere
”.
The administrative court of Rouen, ruling in summary proceedings, suspended on Friday May 5 a prefectural decree which provided for the use of drones for this gathering.
