Expected for many years, the LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse line, which should connect the Pink City to Paris in just over 3 hours, is beginning to see the end of the tunnel. Overview in five points.
What does the appointment of the Prefect of Occitanie at the head of the project change?
On September 3, Prime Minister Jean Castex signed a letter of assignment to Étienne Guyot, Prefect of the Occitanie and Haute-Garonne region, to entrust him with coordinating the LGV Sud-Ouest project and ensuring its implementation. “This is a major step forward on which we agreed with Jean-Luc Moudenc, the mayor of Toulouse. The prefect is a specialist in the complex arrangements and the fiscal arrangements that the project will need. The decision-making center will be in Toulouse to build the Toulouse – Bordeaux line and not the other way around… ”welcomes Carole Delga at the head of the Occitanie region. Étienne Guyot is indeed an excellent expert in the management of major projects. He chaired the Société du Grand Paris from 2011 to 2014, thus contributing to the success of the largest project in France: the Grand Paris Express. He had worked on this project in 2009 as chief of staff to Michel Mercier, then Minister of Regional Planning and Development of the Capital Region. “He will be the representative of the State on the ground and will have authority over all the administrations in direct contact with the Prime Minister. A guarantee of efficiency ”analyzes Jean-Luc Moudenc, President of Toulouse Métropole.
What are the next steps ?
The first mission of the coordinating prefect will be to draft the statutes of the future financing and / or project company which will be the operational arm of the LGV Bordeaux – Toulouse. This company will be responsible for receiving subsidies from the State, communities, Europe but also tax revenues. It could also become the future owner of the site, which would avoid the dispersion of forces. Once drafted, these articles of association will be submitted to the Council of State before the government signs an ordinance establishing the company no later than April 2022.
Who will pay what?
This company must endeavor to complete the financing of the line, the cost of which is estimated at 8.8 billion euros. The State is committing 4.1 billion euros and is asking for the same contribution from communities. European funds will be mobilized to finalize the roundtable. Carole Delga and Jean-Luc Moudenc wrote a few days ago to all the communities concerned in Occitanie and New Aquitaine. The directors general of the services of these communities are currently evaluating what their respective contribution could be. “The goal would be to get everyone together by October. It is true that we ask communities to get involved but the time scale stretches over forty years ”tempers Carole Delga. And Jean-Luc Moudenc summed up the situation: “It is up to all of us to succeed in raising 4.1 billion to make history! “.
In large mesh, of the 4.1 billion carried by the communities, those of Occitanie will bring 55% against 45% for those of New Aquitaine. By type of local authority, the regions will provide 40%, the metropolitan areas of Toulouse and Bordeaux 20%, the departments and agglomerations concerned * 40%. But to relieve the share of communities, new resources are being studied (see last question).
Can the schedule be kept?
For Jean-Luc Moudenc the schedule is “tight and demanding, but that’s the only way to finalize it. And to continue: When a file has dragged on like this for thirty years, it is an incentive to inertia ”. According to the mayor of Toulouse, if the project is legally and financially ready, the deadlines will be met because the route is final, the declaration of public utility obtained, the stations known … It will remain to prepare the site and select the companies in 2023 for start of work in 2024. Entry into service is scheduled for 2030.
Will there be a special LGV tax?
This is clearly a working hypothesis. “With Carole Delga, since July 2017, we have pleaded for this promising company to benefit from exceptional taxation as is the case for Greater Paris with new revenue,” recalls Jean-Luc Moudenc. The idea is to levy taxes on offices according to a corridor and a timeframe to be determined and / or on heavy goods vehicles, or even to benefit from the regional share of the internal consumption tax on energy products (TICPE) that are shared the regions. Newly elected president of the regions of France, Carole Delga will have a decisive role on this issue. The product of all these new taxes will be deducted from the contribution of the communities which will thus receive, a posteriori a “bonus”.
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