Ile-de-France calls for abandoning the new Paris-Normandy line project

The Ile-de-France region adopted a motion on Wednesday, September 11, to ask the State to abandon the New Paris Normandy Line (LNPN) project, which is supposed to reduce travel times between the capital and several Normandy cities.

Regional President Valérie Pécresse criticised a project “whose ecological and economic impact would be disastrous for the towns crossed, particularly in Yvelines”. According to the motion adopted by regional elected officials, “This line requires the artificialization of hundreds of hectares of agricultural land which are among the best in France”.

The project, estimated at 11.5 billion euros by the region, is also considered to be a ““economic aberration” And “will destroy or damage water resources as well as natural areas essential to the protection of biodiversity”.

The decision by the Ile-de-France region has sparked anger in the Normandy region and several major urban areas (Rouen, Le Havre, Caen and Cherbourg), which in a joint press release referred to it as “a project of national interest”.

“Valérie Pécresse forgets that the project was announced by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, and that it was therefore carried out with determination by a government of which she was a member”declared the Normandy communities. In addition, “The project partners, including its region, have devoted more than 100 million euros to date” to studies.