Very High Voltage Line between Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône: the route made official, Gard elected officials excited

Elus, associatifs, représentants du monde agricole, tous unis contre un seul et même projet. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Le "fuseau" de la future ligne 400 000 volts entre Fos-sur-Mer (13) et Jonquières-Saint-Vincent a été dévoilé vendredi 27 septembre à Marseille.
His opponents denounce a masquerade of consultation.

On Friday, September 27, as they left the Paca region prefecture in Marseille, elected officials and representatives of the Gard agricultural community were furious. « Alternative solutions to this project do indeed exist. But they have not been seriously examined. In this affair, it is the Gard that has been chosen to be sacrificed! », fumed Juan Martinez, mayor of Bellegarde and president of the CCBTA.

That morning, the RTE company mandated by the State to build the infrastructure, officially presented the route chosen for the passage of the future very high voltage overhead line (THT- 400 00 volts) which should, in a few years, connect Jonquières-Saint-Vincent to Fos-sur-Mer in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

A project which arouses, particularly in the Gard, the strong opposition of elected officials of all sides and representatives of the agricultural world, who fear in particular the disfigurement of the landscapes. « Of course we must decarbonize, we farmers too are suffering cruelly from global warming. But this project that was presented to us, with its cables and its gigantic pylons, is worthy of the seventies! », David Sève notably denounced.

< p>For the president of the FDSEA of Gard, far from this proposal «  à la hussarde », it is indeed a project that fits into the landscape – and therefore more respectful of the environment and farmers – that we should urgently return to. «  They had nothing to do with alternative proposals. The burial of cables is what we should remember! », Laurent Ducurtir, a retired farmer who had come to Marseille from Beaucaire that day and was firmly opposed to the project, was sorry for his part.

Around 11:30, gathered on the sidewalk, these lovers of the land and their region noted bitterly and with one voice, the «undeniable efforts» made, according to them, in this affair, to preserve the territory of Bouches-du-Rhône, particularly between Saint Martin-de-Crau and Fos-sur-Mer. «There, the THT line will run along the national road…Whereas from Saint-Martin and beyond towards the north (then in the Gard, Editor's note), it's going to be complete nonsense! », noted one of the farmers, with the outline of the future line in hand.

Consultation: phase 2

Around 12:45 p.m. in front of the press, in the presence of representatives of the operator RTE and Jérôme Bonet, Prefect of Gard, the Prefect of the Paca region, Christophe Mirmand (responsible for leading the THT line project on behalf of the State), was keen to point out that the now-confirmed choice of this so-called « of lesser impact », did not in any way mark the end of the consultation in this matter.

«  The national commission for public debate will be notified in the coming days. The investigation of the file in collaboration with elected officials and local stakeholders will continue until the opening, in 2025, of a public inquiry for a new consultation of the general public», the senior official wished to reassure. Recalling among other things that the new line aims to meet this need to decarbonize the activity of industrialists in the industrial-port zone of Fos-sur-Mer, Christophe Mirmand also indicated that the realization of the new THT line will also be subject to its declaration of public utility.

For its part, RTE detailed the future impact studies to come: on fauna, flora, « and of course on the agricultural world», insisted a company representative, responding to a journalist's persistent question.

Not counting possible legal action, work on the future THT line connecting Joncquières-Saint-Vincent to Fos-Sur-Mer will begin in early 2027. RTE estimates that the new infrastructure will be commissioned by the end of 2028.

Questions to Christophe Mirmand, Prefect of the Paca region, Prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône

What benefits will the people of Gard get from the construction of the new line THT ?

First of all, securing their territory. Like the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Gard suffers from a certain electrical fragility. The new THT line will meet its needs in this area. Needs that are also rapidly evolving.

Furthermore, if the new THT line aims to respond to the energy adaptation of industrialists in Bouches-du-Rhône (and in particular those in the industrial-port zone of Fos-sur-Mer but not only), the employees concerned by the competitiveness of this major economic hub extend far beyond Bouches-du-Rhône. If we look at direct and indirect jobs, employees in the Arles and Gard sectors are equally concerned.

At this stage of the consultation, is it possible to bury lines in our department??

I would even say that burying lines (and removing lines) is mainly possible in the Gard, a department where there are many more medium-voltage lines than in the 13th. For each kilometer of THT line, we aim to bury one kilometer of pre-existing medium-voltage line. This is considerable.

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