The French state has paid 79 million euros to concessionaire Atosca to cover the 2025 halt of the A69 highway project. This judicially imposed pause disrupted the contract's economic balance. The environmentally contested initiative is slated for delivery in late 2026.
The A69 highway construction, linking Toulouse to Castres, was halted on February 27, 2025, by the Toulouse administrative court, which annulled the project's environmental permit. This new route, budgeted at 400 to 500 million euros, has faced strong opposition from environmental defense groups since its start.
Work resumed in late May 2025 following a provisional ruling by the Toulouse administrative court of appeal, upheld on the merits on December 30, 2025. The Council of State is now handling the case. The three-month interruption « disrupted the economic balance of the contract » between the state and Atosca, according to a transport ministry source.
After proceedings in the administrative court, mediation by two independent third parties led to a 79 million euro compensation, « almost halved » from Atosca's initial claims. This payment covers unforeseen additional costs from the stoppage, the ministry source explained. The ministry « deplores » the situation, blaming judicial challenges and « near-judicial obstruction by opponents ».
The opponents' group La voie est libre condemned the move, stating that « the state is a servile lackey bowing to NGE-Atosca and the A69 enforcers », denouncing an « organized system to give a private group its highway on public funds ». Atosca, in a statement, noted that « the site is fully mobilized, with delivery planned for the second half of 2026 ».
Revealed by investigative outlet Mediacités, this compensation increases the project's total budget by about 80 million euros.
