One of the most beautiful villages in France is still talked about. The Bordeaux administrative court of appeal this Tuesday ordered the Dordogne department to pay 1.4 million euros in additional penalties, for failing to destroy the construction site of the controversial Beynac-et-Cazenac diversion, a file which has poisoned this valley for three decades.
In a press release attached to the decision, the court considers that the department
“did not carry out all of the demolition and restoration work on the premises within the twelve month period”
. Consequently, it pronounces the partial liquidation of the penalty, initially set at 5,000 euros per day but which it reduces to 4,000 euros per day to
“take into account the steps taken by the department”
, i.e. 1,052,000 euros for 263 days delay.
A “gruesome” file
In addition, if the demolition of a road adjacent to the project was noted, the 127 days of delay concerning this work led the court to order the liquidation of a penalty of 3,000 euros per day, or 381,000 euros. These penalties, paid to the State to the tune of 933,000 euros and, for the rest, to associations and local residents, are added to a first penalty of 489,000 euros liquidated in July 2023, due to failure to start the demolition site.
“It’s less than what the opponents and the public rapporteur asked for
,” who in March demanded 1.7 million euros in penalties, reacted Germinal Peiro, the socialist president of the Dordogne departmental council.
“But the fact remains that it is completely unfair. It is the condemnation of a community which is trying to resolve security problems for its fellow citizens
,” he argued, criticizing a
“gruesome”
file .
One of the most beautiful villages in France
The environmental association Sepanso and the association for the protection of the Dordogne valley (ASVD) welcomed for their part
“the enormous amounts of fines to sanction more strongly a department which voluntarily places itself outside the law”
, denouncing
“ a financial headlong rush at the expense of the Perigord taxpayer
. The departmental council has set aside 1.8 million euros in its 2024 budget to deal with these penalties.
The road bypass of Beynac, a village of 500 inhabitants classified among the most beautiful in France with its medieval castle perched on a cliff overlooking the Dordogne, has inflamed local minds since the 1990s. Supporters of the project say they want to relieve congestion and secure the town, opponents want to defend the site and the environment.
A new “multimodal loop” project
The project began in 2018 before being legally canceled at the end of 2019. Since then, the department has presented a new
“multimodal loop”
project in the Dordogne valley, currently being examined by state services, but the bridge piers built for the initial diversion remain erect in the middle of the river, damaging the landscape.
Germinal Peiro says he hopes for a new environmental investigation from June and a possible new prefectural decree in September. In its judgment, the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal considers that as it stands,
“no element allows us to estimate (...) that the new project, which reflects a desire of the community to maintain the works in view of their use, could be authorized”
in compliance with the legislation on protected species.