“It is a real problem to see insolent health for the highway networks conceded to companies; And in parallel with the other networks which are sometimes in complicated situations ”: this is how Olivier Martinez, vice-president delegated to infrastructure, summed up the philosophy of the contribution on Friday, June 20, that the Landes department will deposit at the Ambition France Transport conference on the future of mobility and their funding.
Because if they are asked, here is the opinion of the Landes advisers on the issue, put in the vote during a session of the Departmental Council on the first modifying decision of the 2025 budget: it is necessary to “a completely public management of the motorway mobility service”; “The non-renewal of highway concessions and the return to the public heritage of all of their infrastructure for the benefit of our fellow citizens”; “The creation of a public entity to finance and implement mobility infrastructure”; Assign the surpluses of recipes for road tolls to the exercise of its mobility skills and to the improvement of “rail travel for goods and travelers”.
Dividends
How did they get to these conclusions? First of all considering that the Landes have 214 kilometers of motorway network, the largest number of kilometers conceded in New Aquitaine, with the A64 managed by the motorways in the south of France, the A63 by A Tlandes, and the A65 by A’Liénor, a subsidiary of Eiffage. At the national level, the seven main concessions come to an end between 2031 and 2036. In the Landes, it was 2036 for ASF, 2051 for Atlandes and 2066 for A’liénor.
“COMMANDAY COMPANIES (SCA) have a profitability that borders on indecency,” denounces Olivier Martinez. And to quote their turnover of 12.3 billion euros in 2023; their net profit at 4.4 billion euros still in 2023, “the cash flow being mainly allocated to dividends for an amount of 4.1 billion euros, to investments for 1.5 billion euros, and 2 billion euros for the reimbursement of the debt” (1). Not to mention the regular increases in toll rates, + 4.6 % in 2023.
The rapporteur thus calculates the financial volume of these dividends reported to the Landes highway linear “to more than 70 million euros not redeployed in investment in the infrastructures of everyday mobility for our citizens, which we have great difficulties to finance”.
“Biased system”
For the record, the community is responsible for 4,289 kilometers of departmental road network, its outbuildings and associated art structures. “The effort involved in heritage maintenance investment works is more than 140 million euros between 2017 and 2022. Not to mention the participation in motorway arrangements, such as the A64 motorway suspenders, the Baro de Peyrehorade and the future Carresse-Cassaber interchange. That’s enough, the system is completely biased. »»
Another observation included in the contribution: the Department recalls that it participates in the financing of the LGV via the GPSO company, with this fear compared to the silence of the State again put on the table: “Financing agreements are already signed between SNCF, the State and GPSO. At a time when we speak, there is no legal insurance signed by the State and the Ministry of Transport that this promised sum will actually be paid. Our fear is that the advance we are going to do, becomes additional funding which is a complete disengagement from the State. »»
Not free …
“We must not oppose public management and paying toll,” said Julien Dubois, departmental opposition advisor, at the time of the debate. He is joined by President Fortinon: “We must use these surpluses and keep the system, perhaps not with prices increases, but it will not be necessary to tell people that everything will be free, if you want to keep quality infrastructure. »»
“I find it regrettable that we do not mention the Metropolitan Regional Express Service Project, the Basco-Landre RER from Dax to Hendaye,” notes the elected communist Jean-Marc Lespade. His amendment proposal will be added to the document, approved unanimously.
(1) In accordance with the summary of the accounts of the concessionary companies of highways produced by the Transport Regulatory Authority for the Fiscair 2023.
