麻豆传媒映画

Around 500 people gathered near Nice C么te d鈥橝zur airport yesterday (Saturday March 18) to protest against work to expand the site which is next to a protected nature area.

Aymeric Staub, a spokesperson for the airport, said last week that no extra 鈥渁viation capacities鈥� were being added, nor was the landing zone being increased. He told radio station France Bleu that the airport is instead expanding the space available to welcome arriving and departing passengers in terminal 2.

This, however, would allow the airport to accommodate more flights as it can deal with more passengers arriving at the same time / close together, say protestors.

Read more: New UK-France air routes launched from Nice and Montpellier

Work on the expansion started a few days ago.

The Alliance 茅cologique et sociale des Alpes-Maritimes (Alpes-Maritimes ecological and social alliance), which groups together around 30 Nice ecology associations and unions, called the expansion 鈥渃limaticide鈥�.

The airport is next to a Natura 2000 nature protection area, encompassing 240 protected species and flora. A protester on Saturday told the local TV station France3 that she had found dead birds killed by pollution or stress.

In 2022, 12 million passengers passed through the airport. The expansion will mean an extra seven million, equivalent to over 20,000 extra flights, can pass through, claims Thierry Bitouz茅, co-founder of the 06 residents鈥� association. 鈥淭hat means an enormous amount of sanitary and environmental waste,鈥� he added.

Mr Bitouz茅 said the prefect for the Alpes-Maritimes region had signed a drought decree and at the same time signed off the airport expansion, which 鈥渓eads to global warming and therefore droughts!鈥� He said the policy was 鈥渃ompletely incoherent鈥�.

An appeal against the airport extension has been filed at Marseille鈥檚 administrative court.

Related articles:

Two more departments on drought alert after France鈥檚 record dry period

Bring in water restrictions from now, French prefects told