Conseil d'État gives negative opinion on A69 toll-cut deal

In late September 2026, weeks before the A69 motorway between Toulouse and Castres was due to open, the Conseil d'État, France's top administrative court and legal adviser to the government, issued an unfavourable opinion. It concerned an amendment to the concession contract, the agreement under which a private operator builds and runs the road.

The amendment would have added 41 million euros of public money, on top of roughly 23 million already planned, in return for lower tolls. The funds were to come from the State, the Occitanie region, the Tarn département (county-level authority) and local Castres-Mazamet area bodies. The aim was a cut of about a third in the toll on part of the route.

The opinion was reported on 24 September and was advisory, so the government was not legally bound by it. It nonetheless suspended the deal. The decision left the full toll in place, about 20.40 euros return between Toulouse and Castres, and drew criticism from local elected officials, one of whom demanded explanations from the State. It became a central point in the dispute over the motorway's pricing.