We had somewhat forgotten about it, but the Conseil d’État has just reminded us: back in 2015, the Collectif associatif pour des réalisations écologiques (Capre 06) took legal action against the strategic and operational plan (SOP) concerning a vast development project in the lower Var Valley. This project notably includes an international business center and an “urban sustainable development tech hub,” known as Nice Meridia, Grand Arena, and other real estate initiatives within the framework of the Eco-vallée National Interest Operation (extending over 10,000 hectares across 15 municipalities).
This Wednesday, the highest French administrative court rejected a legal challenge against a major development project in the Var plain in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes.
In its decision issued on Wednesday, the Conseil d’État ruled that the approval of this SOP “neither has any regulatory nature nor aims to authorize the development operations it considers.”
For the record, in 2017, the Nice Administrative Court had indeed sided with the environmentalist collective before the Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal reversed this decision the following year, a judgment that was subsequently annulled for procedural irregularities, leading to the Conseil d’État’s intervention.
End of the story? Not quite, of course. One should not underestimate the tenacity of these collectives, unwavering in their views until they prevail.
Sylvie Bonaldi, president of the collective, assures she wants to continue the fight: the CAPRE06 association filed a legal challenge against the metropolitan local urban plan in January 2020 and petitioned the petitions committee of the European Commission.
In the meantime, she has run as a candidate on the “Nice Ecologique” list in the Nice municipal elections, affirming that advocacy associationism is the best entry point into politics.
In short, the Eco-Vallée operation will proceed, and Madame Bonaldi may become a city councilor. This is what one would call a win-win situation.
