The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
France / AFP
Voters in western France gave the go-ahead on 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 percent 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. “Whether it is yes or no, we have made a decision,” said one exasperated voter. The former mayor of Nantes Jean-Marc Ayrault, a long-time supporter of the project, as well as an ex-prime minister and current foreign minster, praised the voters’ decision Sunday evening.