Bordeaux Bagarre

Some of you may have noticed that hundreds of banners marked “Non au Grand Contournement” have sprung up in the Bordeaux region - it’s all about the plans for a new bypass and bridge across the Gironde which will relieve the congestion on the existing ring road at Bordeaux. Winemakers and tourist officials are up in arms as several of the (many) proposed routes plough straight through prime viticultural land in Bourg, Blaye and Margaux. Although Margaux looks safe, two of the proposed routes will affect parts of Bourg and Blaye, and our winemakers Vincent Lemaître from Château Rousselle and Jean-Michel and Françoise Baudet from Château Monconseil-Gazin, have been at the forefront of objections.

On the 2nd August the Baudets, Vincent and others mobilised a 300-strong demonstration and petition, surprising the local council as they tried to approve the project. Françoise explained that officials commonly choose August, when everyone is on holiday, for contentious decisions as this reduces the risk of objections delaying, modifying or stopping projects.

Fortunately, the strength of the opposition has put the scheme back for review and yet another route is now being evaluated. According to Vincent: “Nous avons gagné une bataille, mais pas la guerre” (we’ve won a battle, but not the war).

At the end of September the region will choose two of the proposed routes to go forward to the Minister of Transport for the final decision, but the bypass will not be built for another 15 years.

At the time of writing, the outcome remains unclear but we’ll bring you more news in our next issue. Let’s hope that Jean-Michel, Françoise, Vincent and their colleagues are successful.