Majority in the local referendum on the Nantes Atlantique airport ends long battle between environmental activists and the government
Voters in western France gave the go-ahead Sunday to a controversial airport development that has been at the centre of a years-long battle between environmental activists and the government.
The local referendum on the new Nantes Atlantique airport passed with a 55% majority, ending a 50-year argument that saw the government’s environment advisers resign in 2014.
Authorities argue that the new airport will provide a major boost to tourism in western France, but environmental campaigners have fiercely opposed the plans to build it on protected swampland just outside Nantes.
Related: Nantes airport: thousand-strong protest over farmer eviction court hearings
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Source: Guardian Environment