Transport Minister Clément Beaune refused on Wednesday to give the green light to the extension of line 1 of the Paris metro to Val-de-Fontenay, asking that “the project be reworked”.
“It is not possible to declare the project of public utility as it is because its impact on the environment is worrying, in particular on the Bois de Vincennes,” Beaune told AFP. “The project needs to be reworked, the state will provide support to move it forward,” he added.
Unfavorable reviews
The Environmental Authority and the commission of inquiry prior to the declaration of public utility (DUP) had both issued an unfavorable opinion, respectively in May 2021 and last May.
“These negative opinions do not make it possible to declare the public utility project as it stands and require a broader resumption of the studies in order to respond to the comments made and to reinforce the legal certainty of the project with a view to a new public inquiry” , explained the Ministry of Transport in a press release, while Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) had nevertheless asked for the green light.
Noting that “the extension of line 1 of the metro (…) is awaited by many Ile-de-France residents”, Beaune asked the prefects concerned to engage with the local authorities in the pursuit of additional studies for the project and to proceed with the first land acquisitions.
5 km tunnel
The project agitated the Parisian East at the beginning of the year, confronting supporters of public transport with the defenders of century-old trees in the Bois de Vincennes (Paris XII). Petitions, demonstrations and citizen mobilization in particular animated the public inquiry, organized from January 31 to March 2.
The rejected project planned to drill a tunnel of about 5 km from the current terminus of Château de Vincennes to the RER station of Val-de-Fontenay, passing under Vincennes, Montreuil and Fontenay-sous-Bois (Val-de-Marne and Seine-Saint-Denis).
The commission of inquiry had estimated its cost -1.7 billion euros according to the latest estimate – “excessive” and “comparatively more expensive than similar achievements”. The commission also ruled that the project harmed the environment. “The number of trees felled in the Bois de Vincennes could be much higher than that mentioned by IDFM”, according to her.