The Marseille administrative court on Monday demanded more transparency from Solideo, the structure responsible for major infrastructure works intended for the Alps 2030 Winter Olympics, a citizen collective having taken legal action to demand a public debate.
In an order dated January 26, the judge “orders” Solideo (Olympic works delivery company), “for projects for which it is likely to ensure project management, as part of the preparation for the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to ensure the publicity provided for” by the environmental code “by mentioning the objectives and essential characteristics of the works and indicating its decision to refer or not to refer the matter to the National Commission of public debate, relating to the decision to carry out these works. »
In a press release, Solideo, based in Marseille, indicates that it will “appeal to the cassation”, ensuring that it is already organizing “public meetings. »
A citizen collective, JOP 2030, launched proceedings in September before the administrative courts of Paris, Lyon and Marseille, requesting a referral to the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) to debate the “general interest of this project” of the Winter Olympics and highlight potential environmental risks.
Large-scale works are planned
In his order the judge recognizes that the project to organize the Olympic Games “includes the execution of public works and the completion of large-scale works, notably concerning the construction of hotel complexes, and sports, road, motorway and railway infrastructures in the Alps. »
“The applicants argue, without being seriously contradicted on this point, that this project is likely to have a significant impact and thus presents significant risks to the natural environment in which it largely fits,” the decision further underlines.
For Solidéo, the summary judge “simply orders the establishment to carry out advertising formalities by mentioning the objectives and essential characteristics as well as the consultation methods relating to the Olympic works, the cost of which is estimated at 1.4 billion euros of investments, including 800 million of public money. »
The establishment ensures that it is “fully engaged in a consultation process on all Olympic works, like the public meetings” organized in 2025 in La Plagne (Savoie), Saint-Jean-de-Sixt (Haute-Savoie) and Nice.
The JOP 2030 welcomes what it considers to be “an end to democratic denial” and considers that the project to organize the Winter Olympics “must be considered as a single, global project, which must be the subject of a measure of information and public participation as quickly as possible. »
