A judge at the Toulouse correctional court has ordered Atosca to immediately suspend works on unauthorized zones along the A69 highway route between Toulouse and Castres. The ruling targets surrounding areas occupied by construction equipment and worker bases, while the main build can continue. Opponents hail it as acknowledging 10.7% of the project as legally off-limits.
On January 12, a judge for freedoms and detention at the Toulouse correctional court issued a pivotal ruling in the dispute over the A69 highway. She orders Atosca, the project's lead contractor, to « immediately suspend ongoing and planned works outside the environmental authorization's designated area on identified sites along the A69 route ».
This follows stop-work orders from the prefects of Tarn and Haute-Garonne, who banned activities on these zones after the Toulouse prosecutor's request. The affected areas lie along the route's edges, used to store construction equipment and house worker camps without prior permits.
Nevertheless, the highway's core construction progresses in its final phase, upheld by an administrative appeals court decision from December 30. Atosca stated it will comply, describing the overrun as « temporary » and on bordering lands. The concessionaire has four days to rectify, facing a 20,000-euro daily fine for delays, per the prosecutor.
Agents from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) will verify the end of illegal occupation. At the January 19 hearing, prosecutors labeled these actions a « serious disturbance to environmental public order ». Opponents, who filed a complaint in late November over the encroachments, claim through lawyer Alice Terrasse that « 10.7% of the site is completely outside the legal framework ».
The A69 project, a symbol of ecological battles, faces ongoing challenges: opponents plan to appeal to the Council of State against the environmental permit. Atosca confirms works on the definitive route continue toward an autumn 2026 opening.
