A thousand protesters form human chain in Gironde to oppose Bordeaux-Toulouse high-speed rail line

Protest in Bernos-Beaulac

Around a thousand people gathered in Bernos-Beaulac, Gironde, on Saturday 4 July to form a human chain over 700 metres long, protesting the planned high-speed rail line between Bordeaux, Toulouse and Dax. Organised by the collective LGV Nina (Ni ici, ni ailleurs), the demonstration drew families, local mayors wearing tricolour sashes, and parliamentarians including Green senator Monique de Marco. Participants held signs reading "LGV non merci", "La forêt oui merci", and "Patrimoine en danger", while drums and protest songs accompanied the chain.

We are not fighting against the train, not even against the TGV. We are fighting against these new lines. We fight for daily trains and for the renovation of existing lines.

Environmental concerns

The planned route cuts through the Ciron valley, a partly wild area with a thousand-year-old beech forest that opponents describe as a "climate refuge" and "Noah's Ark of biodiversity". Organisers pointed to the early heatwaves and the planned lowering of water tables for construction as aggravating factors. Jacqueline Bloy, 94, attending with her walker, said the project was "money thrown away" and questioned the priority given to saving travel time over climate challenges.

It's money thrown away. We want to save a bit of time, but is that really the priority today with all the challenges of global warming? You really have to not know the beauty of the Ciron to dare wreck it.

Project cost and timeline

The LGV Sud-Ouest aims to connect Toulouse to Paris via Bordeaux in 3 hours 10 minutes by 2032, down from 4 hours 40 minutes today, and later cut the Bordeaux-Dax journey by 20 minutes towards Spain by 2034. The cost, estimated at €14 billion in 2020, should be re-evaluated upwards by 20% according to the Infrastructure Orientation Council (COI) report delivered in April. In late June the government opted for fully public financing, split between the state (€6 billion), local authorities (€6 billion) and the European Union (€3.5 billion). Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had declared the project "irreversible" in early May.

Legal challenge and next steps

Preparatory clearing works are scheduled to begin on 1 October in Sud Gironde. Opponents confirmed they will file an appeal before the Bordeaux administrative court in early August against the prefectural order authorising SNCF to proceed. Pauline Dupouy of LGV Nina said the mobilisation was not just about defending a local patch but a national movement, with the cost argument resonating widely.

Our mobilisation is not only the defence of our little garden, it is a national movement. It speaks to everyone, with money as the nerve of the war. Our fight resonates everywhere.

Opposition calculations

The collective Nina has translated the project's cost into alternative investments: 10 km of LGV could buy 11 firefighting aircraft, 8 km could renovate 550 km of existing rail tracks, or fund nearly 20,000 thermal renovations of housing. These figures were circulated at the protest to underline the group's call to redirect funds towards daily transport and climate adaptation.