Nantes Airport: creation of a compensation fund for local residents

On Thursday, Edouard Philippe announced the creation of a "compensation fund" by the end of the year for the residents of the Nantes-Atlantique airport, after the abandonment of the Notre-Dame project. -de-Landes.

"This fund will be supported by the State, by the concessionaire and, where appropriate, by the local authorities," declared the Prime Minister without revealing the overall amount. This endowment will have to enable residents to finance "up to 90%" the soundproofing of their homes, he said, pleading to "accompany the owners." It will also be used to pay for "the transfer of public facilities" close to the airport, the first of which is a primary school and a school located in the axis of the tracks. Finally, this fund will compensate some owners wishing to resell their land "in the correct conditions."

"The sums will be largely sufficient"

The Prime Minister did not go into detail of the level of matching because he wants "to ensure, in the context of the negotiation of the future contract (of concession of the airport), that the concessionaire engages on a participation in this fund". "The sums will be largely sufficient to finance the first or the first two years of existence," he promised.

Edouard Philippe also said he hoped to sign the new concession contract "in 2021", after the termination of the current agreement with Vinci, a collateral consequence of the abandonment of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. He said that "discussions" were ongoing with Vinci "that it can achieve as early as 2019" investments up to "tens of millions of euros" for the "improvement of conditions of use of Nantes-Atlantique ".

The Prime Minister, who met successively Thursday with the local elected officials (mayor of Nantes, president of the Region, president of the County council, deputies), moreover confirmed the retrocession of part of the lands of Notre-Dame-des-Landes in the department. But not "to the symbolic euro", as claimed by Philippe Grosvalet, president of the County Council.

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The Prime Minister also noted the repayment "by the end of the summer" to local authorities of the 29 million euros disbursed by them between 2011 and 2013 for the construction of the new airport. Lastly, he committed to signing the "Future Contract" with the Region, which lists infrastructure projects based on four pillars before the end of the year: "transport, digital transformation, ecological transition and the economy of the

Edouard Philippe's remarks did not convince LR Senator Bruno Retailleau who criticized "the void of his commitments."