“We learned a lot”: bottling plant project in Montagnac, opponents appeal

Christophe Savary de Beauregard and Vincent Lapasset, members of Veille au grain, show the famous La Castillonne estate. Midi Libre – Mélissa Alcoléa

Rejected by the administrative court of Montpellier, Montagnacois continue their fight to try to cancel the sale of plots of land to the Compagnie générale d'eaux de source (CGES), a subsidiary of Alma (Cristaline), for the purpose of industrial exploitation of the resource. They are investigating as part of their appeal. While the group is laying the foundations for the construction of a factory.

They are not giving up. And they are keeping up the pressure. The association “Veille eau grain”, created at the end of 2022 and which now has around a hundred members, intends to continue its fight against the commune of Montagnac and the Compagnie générale d'eaux de source (CGES).

This subsidiary of the Alma group (Cristaline) could in fact acquire a set of plots of 3,700 m2 in the valley located on the road to Mèze, for the sum of 37,000 euros paid to the City of Montagnac, under certain conditions. One of these plots actually hosts a geothermal deposit (a borehole) highly coveted by the CGES with the aim of developing an industrial activity of bottling the water resource.

The conclusion of the sale is however subject to the “prior declassification, by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, of the deposit currently subject to the provisions of the Mining Code, with a view to subjecting it to the provisions of the Environmental Code.”  And the conclusions of an impact study currently underway… The voice of the State will be decisive. 

"Reasons of general interest"…

“Veille au grain” therefore challenged the municipal council's deliberations dated September 29, 2022 and February 21, 2023, validating these land transfers, before the Montpellier administrative court. But last May, the court ruled in favor of the municipality, arguing that there was no evidence that the land valuation was underestimated.

The judge acknowledges that the Domaines did not formalize an estimated opinion until October 5, 2022, after the council meeting, but believes that there was a lack (of information for elected officials, editor's note) ” influence on the vote and therefore the direction of the deliberation." The judge still considers the transfer justified by "reasons of general interest" in view of "the economic development project pursued by the CGES"… 

“How much can such drilling bring in ?”

“We were rejected but in fact it's extremely positive", analyzes Vincent Lapasset, an active member of the association, alongside its president Christophe Savary de Beauregard. “Because we learned a huge amount… and that gives us momentum".

The members of "Veille au grain&quot have, in fact, had access to numerous documents and have prepared the appeal which will be examined by the Toulouse court with their lawyer, Maître Hélène Bras, specialized in environmental law and rural law.

“The Estates have only estimated agricultural land, the value of the drilling never appears. However, how much does it cost to build such a cottage ? 1 to 2 million euros. How much can it bring in ? At least 8 million per year, 1.5 million net profits! This is to be compared with the 37,000 &euro to which the municipality sold", Vincent Lapasset points out. 

"An aberration"

In 2018, the municipality of Montagnac had purchased all four plots including the geothermal lodge from Safer (Société d'aménagement foncier et d'établissement rural) for €30,000, at the price of agricultural land (i.e. around €0.72 per m2).

They were then completely re-divided and resized. "But initially, it was an agricultural and aquaculture project that was to be developed", recalls the activist. “This project is an aberration, we cannot put a bottling plant in an area subject to drought and where many surrounding farms do not have access to drinking water. This is a project of the 20th century, not the 21st!” Not to mention” “the impact on the landscapes, the value of real estate, the tourist activity.”  Around 65 households live in this rural valley, a stone's throw from the Thau lagoon. 

CGES in the process of buying the L'Agrione estate

The Compagnie générale des eaux de source is moving forward with its project. It has in fact signed a compromise for the purchase of the GFA (Agricultural Land Group) L'Agrione, which covers around 50 hectares, not far from La Castillonne in Montagnac, for an amount of 2.1 million euros. The final act must be signed no later than October 31.

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