A second tunnel under the Manche, between Jersey and France, will you see again today in 2040?
The governments of Jersey and Guernesey intend to build a tunnel on the two islands in Normandy to boost the economy. At the current hour, several informal discussions with French political leaders are ongoing. In addition, the project does not worry the defenders of the environment.
There is a old serpent of the sea that seems to scratch the surface stronger than ever. « Il y a quinze ans, lorsque l'on parlait de construire un pont entre Jersey, Guernesey et la Normandie, les gens riaient. Nowadays, the construction project of a tunnel is serious and the public opinion of the island is favorable", assure Kirsten Morel, minister of the Economy of Jersey, enthousiaste, on the spot. To boost the economy of the two independent dependencies of the British Couronne, which comprise 170,000 inhabitants, the government of Jersey intends to create a second tunnel in La Manche towards the Anglo-Norman islands in Normandy, in the secteur of Granville ( Heat).
The project seems to have entered into a new dimension and now meets with an interministerial delegation from the Anglo-Norman islands and Philippe Gosselin, deputy of La Manche and president of the group of studies and associations between France and the Anglo-Norman islands, à l'Assemblée nationale en février dernier. Although the tunnel made it for the moment the object of «informal discussions», the Frenchman said «to take action» of this will of the former Ministers of the Economy, here he is, estimating that the tunnel will pour again every day « by 2040 ».
Front-line workers
Like the majority of Western countries, the islands of Jersey and Guernesey are concerned about the decline of their population here to lead to a main-d'œuvre shortage towards the horizon 2050. Thank you for a tunnel, Jersey, where the minimum salary is brut hour est de 11,64 livres sterling, soit 13,54 euros comtre 11,52 euros en France, expect also to attract des Français qui se rendraient à la journée sur l'île pour et travailler. Of the latter, the tunnel allows the Islanders to develop their own property in Normandy, even if the "prix moyen of a house on the island is between 700,000 and 800,000 livres", if only minister Kirsten Morel is disappointed.
This situation of front-line workers is more disturbing to the French. Philippe Gosselin redoute the escape of French workers, combined with an explosion of the prize of the normands logements with the arrival of jersiais cheteurs. It is also clear that the region is in a situation of "tension on the estate market".
Tourisme dopé
Kirsten Morel provides a "win-win" solution in tunnel construction. The route to Normandy near the islands allows for French tourism, not least in the Saint-Michel bay area, advances the ministers. An intensification of the tourist flow here is revealed by many Norman employees.
Another advantage of the advantages for Jersey is the construction of a tunnel: to limit the outbuilding of the islands with the Royaume-Uni. Since Jersey "imports 98% of its resources from the port of Portsmouth", located in the south of England, Kirsten Morel deplores the storms and the weather in La Manche which regularly supply the ferries to the island. With a fixed "attachment" to the European continent, the minister hopes to reduce the risks of shortages of products, especially food.
A financing is valued at a little more than a billion euros
Concerning the question of finance, the government of Jersey is worth one billion livres (1.17 billion euros) the construction of the tunnel. A montant here «is not the heart of the problem», analyzes Philippe Gosselin, car «a prêt d'un milliard étalé sur vingt ans ne coûterait que 50 millions par an aux investors».
In addition to the song for the benefit of "public funds from Jersia, France, Europe and the same private sector", details Kirsten Morel. Private investors here pourraient in effect « être interest » in the construction of the bridge, susceptible to « boosting their activity » in the long term, and to obtain a redevance thanks to « the establishment of a péage ».
Above all finances, the plan to start a fait accompli is to "evaluate all the benefits and advantages of the project", planned for 2025, which will count "10 million livres", specifies the ministers.
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Quid de l'environnement ?
In reality, the « main obstacles » to the construction of the tunnel « must be beyond environmental order», estimates Philippe Gosselin. The explanation that the infrastructure development of the tunnel on the sun normally pourrait is based on climate and resilience and is the object of Zéro artificialisation des suns (ZAN).
And as the Granville secteur includes several sites protected by Natura 2000, Alain Picard, vice-president of the Groupement Régional des Associations de Protection de l'Environnement (GRAPE) de Normandie, cries that the "environmental desire is not sacrificed on the 'autel du développement économique'. Concerned, the environmental activists also call for a "bouleversement of the fauna and flora" of the seabeds that the tunnels cross.
The first year, the membership group of the National Assembly chaired by Philippe Gosselin will return to the islands autonomously for "a match return". The opportunity for Anglo-Norman governments to specify the details of their project and to launch the ability to do so, essential to the realization of Kirsten Morel's "reveal politics".