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17 Jan, 2018 12:54

French govt abandons plan for new airport in W. France

The French government on Wednesday abandoned a decades-old plan to build a €580 million ($708.53 million) airport in western France. “The Notre-Dame-Des-Landes project will be dropped,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said in a televised statement. The project does not have broad popular support, according to the government. President Emmanuel Macron, who took office in May, promised a quick decision after years of indecision over the development. The issue has spawned an eco-protest movement that threatened widespread disruption over the issue. The contract to build the new airport had been won by French construction giant Vinci, near the city of Nantes, Reuters said. It also operates the existing airport in the city, which Philippe said will be modernized.