the project of the town hall of Paris again challenged by justice
At the end of October, the administrative court had already rejected the request for interim relief from the City against this same decision taken by the former Paris police chief Didier Lallement. On May 10, 2022, the latter informed PS Mayor Anne Hidalgo of his opposition to “this traffic restriction project in the Eiffel Tower sector”fearing “significant traffic reports” And “deductions” which could hinder the intervention of the emergency services.
The prefect justified in having a different overall assessment of his various departments
For the administrative court of appeal, the former police chief “committed no error of law” by estimating, “in particular, that the new horseshoe-shaped development of the Place du Trocadéro risks causing restraints on the roads serving it as well as traffic deferrals on the adjacent avenues”.
And if the services of the police headquarters have formulated “favorable opinions” Has building permit applications or develop, these “one-off opinions are not enough to invalidate the overall assessment” of May 10, 2022, underlines the court.
The town hall “did not provide sufficient demonstrations” on the prefectural requests
Still according to the judges, the town hall does not provide sufficient demonstrations on two requests from the prefecture: that “to widen to three meters the lane reserved for security and emergency vehicles on the Quai Branly”And “the implementation of a better management of the regulation of fires”.
Town hall data “cannot suffice to demonstrate” that the project “would not involve (…) traffic deductions and postponements as well as risks of congestion or traffic saturation”said the court again.
Political will intact
“We take note and regret the court decision preventing the realization of the Trocadéro-Tour Eiffel project and the necessary arrangements for the proper holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”reacted to AFP on Friday, the town planning assistant Emmanuel Grégoire, who is studying “the possibility of filing an appeal before the Council of State”.
If the project, costing 110 million euros and highly contested by the opposition and local residents, will therefore not see the light of day for the Olympics, the “political will” of the left executive “did not change”insists the first assistant who hears “update traffic studies” requested by the police headquarters.
