Metro construction site in Toulouse: already 16 compensation claims from traders

The works of the 3^And the metro line or line C is springing up everywhere along the future 27km line which will link Colomiers to Labège at the end of 2028 via Toulouse station, Blagnac and Matabiau. Many businesses or companies are already suffering the effects of the first construction sites and are concerned about the compensation procedures. The lawyers, organized in a “consortium”, have offered their services to maintain contact between the traders and Tisséo, although Jean-Michel Lattes, president of Tisséo Collectivités, recently explained: “There is no need for an intermediary in the framework of the mutual agreement procedure put in place”. The compensation procedure is well established from previous works on lines A and B of the metro, but the City Council and Tisséo wish to explain the procedure clearly to avoid any misunderstanding.

An “abnormal and special, current and certain damage” caused by the construction site

Thus, Olivier Arsac, deputy mayor in charge of commerce and crafts, and Jean-Michel Lattes received in the Capitol, on July 19, the traders’ associations of the districts where the Line C construction site is taking place to present them in detail the amicable procedure for indemnifying traders. Tisséo has set up this procedure on the basis of the principles of administrative jurisprudence: operators are compensated on the basis of the loss of margin on variable costs, if they are able to prove anomalous and special, current and certain damage, in a direct and immediate causal link with the line C construction site.

A joint commission, chaired by a magistrate, delegate of the president of the administrative court of Toulouse, is made up of four representatives of the chamber of commerce and industry, the chamber of commerce and crafts, Tisséo Collectivités (SMTC) and Tisséo Ingénierie (one per entity). The purpose of this composition is to ensure the independence, impartiality and objectivity of the commission’s work.

The mutual agreement procedure lasts from 4 to 5 months

In concrete terms, when a trader notices a significant and anomalous drop in his turnover, he can go to court to request the appointment of an expert to quantify the damage. The expert will then present his report to both parties (retailer and Tisséo) before sending it to the commission which will decide on the damage and the compensation offered. Once the indemnity has been validated by the Tisséo trade union committee, it is paid to the trader. The entire mutual agreement procedure takes about four to five months.

In the absence of an agreement or in case of rejection of the request by the judge, the traditional judicial remedies are always open. The actors concerned are therefore completely free to be accompanied in these steps by the lawyer of their choice (accountant or lawyer), indicate Ville de Toulouse and Tisséo.