Overview
- The Cour administrative d'appel de Toulouse on December 30 reinstated the A69 project's environmental authorisations, overturning the February 27 first‑instance annulment and allowing construction to continue.
- The court found the motorway satisfies the legal test of a raison impérative d'intérêt public majeur and judged there was no satisfactory alternative, validating species derogations and the impact study.
- Work may resume across the authorised 340 hectares, while prefectural orders maintain freezes on out‑of‑emprise areas pending a January 12 penal hearing on alleged unauthorized site extensions.
- Opponents from La Voie est Libre said they will file a non‑suspensive cassation appeal to the Conseil d'État after the appeals court ruling.
- Atosca says the project is roughly two‑thirds complete and is targeting an opening around October 2026; a day earlier, the Toulouse administrative court also rejected challenges to the Bordeaux–Toulouse high‑speed rail authorisation, enabling SNCF Réseau to advance that project.