The City of Geneva is appealing against the motorway project planned for the Chablais region

During the 1980s, an initial motorway project was mapped out to alleviate congestion in the Chablais region. In light of numerous constraints, however, in addition to the environmental issue, it was abandoned. In 2014, the project was revived in a different form, with a shorter motorway section. Despite strong opposition, a decree signed on 24 December 2019 declared the public utility of creating a motorway section between Thonon-les-Bains and Machilly.

The City of Geneva has decided to lodge an appeal before the French Council of State in order to demonstrate the lack of public utility of the project. This motorway will not achieve the objectives of optimising traffic in the Chablais region and, more particularly, will call into question the investment of the Swiss Confederation as well as of the Canton and the City of Geneva with a view to implementing environmentally-friendly transport solutions, such as the Léman Express.

In light of the environmental impact of this project for the region of Geneva, and convinced that this motorway section is not indispensable and is in direct competition with the Léman Express, the City of Geneva has commissioned the Huglo Lepage legal firm, specialising the fields of public law and the environment, to appeal against the project before the French Council of State.

In doing so, the City of Geneva is demonstrating its desire to take action against a project which is inconsistent with existing efforts designed to enable the population to adopt more environmentally-friendly means of transport.

The Association de Concertation et de Proposition pour l’Aménagement et les Transports (ACPAT), the Association Action Abandon Autoroute Chablais of the village of Mésinges, the Confédération paysanne and numerous private citizens concerned have joined forces with the City of Geneva and will also lodge an appeal.