On the very day of the vote to censure Michel Barnier’s government, the news went almost unnoticed. On Wednesday, December 4, the overthrown government put out for consultation a draft decree which intends to modify the categories of projects submitted to the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP). The executive wants to exclude from the field of CNDP any industrial project whose cost exceeds 300 million euros, under the pretext of accelerating the reindustrialization of the country.
This independent authority, created in 1995 by Michel Barnier, then Minister of the Environment, ensures that the public is well consulted in the development of projects having an impact on the environment. This was for example the case for the opening of a lithium mine in Allier or the creation of electric battery factories in the North.
Online consultation until December 27
If the recommendations collected by the CNDP are not binding, they can play an important role. In 60 % of cases, the project comes out modified. In 2022, the body concluded that the offshore wind project off the island of Oléron did not give rise to « no consent of the population ». Faced with these results, the State chose another location.
The government decree is subject to an online public consultation until Friday December 27. So far, it has been the subject of 2,500 contributions, mostly negative. The project also sparks an outcry among environmental associations.
« This draft decree shows that the State is afraid of citizen speech »
For the Générations futures association, « under the guise of accelerating the completion of industrial projects »this text is « a new regression of the right to the environment ». Ilaria Casillo, vice-president of the CNDPconsiders that, if the decree is adopted, « the population will no longer have a say on these projects and they will not even be informed of their existence, their impact, their cost… ».
However, these projects linked to the decarbonization of industry, and therefore to the ecological transition, « deserve to be debated, because they are at the heart of the transformation of territories »she insists. During the debates, « there is no taboo, citizens can talk about everything and have access to reliable information to form an opinion ». For Ilaria Casillo, « this draft decree shows that the State is afraid of citizen speech ».
This is not the first time that the CNDP is in the sights of the executive. Former Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire tried to eliminate it in the spring with the simplification bill, finally interrupted by the dissolution of the National Assembly.
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