Public Debates for Maritime Port Projects

Port development projects obviously raise many questions. In fact, these developments concern coastal or estuarine geographical areas that are highly coveted due to the many competing activities that can take place there. Often surrounded by adjoining natural or urbanized areas, a wide variety of players and stakeholders are involved. These projects, which are generally delimited by boundaries, have effects that extend far beyond port areas, in terms of the added value they bring to hinterland logistics chains and to the industrial and logistics players who will use port activities linked to these developments. They also have impacts on the environment which, when negative, must be avoided, reduced or compensated for.

The general principles of port development have been described in some detail in an article by Paul Scherrer [C 4 630] . In it, he highlights the balance to be achieved between development and the environment, which underpins the development of the "Working with Nature" concept. The interaction between port developments and the environment is detailed in a specific article by Pascal Galichon [TRP 5 040] .

The aim here is to focus on the importance and specific features of port public debates from the point of view of port authorities, the owners of these developments, who now benefit from hindsight and feedback from several debates held on extremely varied projects. This article will focus mainly on maritime port projects, river projects being both rarer and often more marked by other development logics.

To meet this objective, we will first briefly review the origins and development of public debates in France, and then situate the regulations specific to port public debates in relation to other types of regulations applicable to port projects, by describing the issues that some port project owners have had to face.