Once again, for the Italian Government, the gamble is to extract a commitment from the French on the project to double the Mont Blanc tunnel, which is unique among the most important Alpine tunnels, in terms of traffic volume, in still having a single gallery with two-way traffic. The context is that of the Italy-France Cross-Border Cooperation Committee, which meets for the third time in three years, with the presence of Minister Antonio Tajani and his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot.
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, Antonio Tajani, speaks of an “opening” on the part of France. “I appreciated,” says Tajani, “the minister’s willingness to evaluate an impact study drawn up by two universities so that a concrete assessment can be made on the work, and then to address the discussion and see if France might be interested. I consider this an opening. Evaluating the hypothesis means not having said no on principle, but rather studying and evaluating, and then we will make our decisions.”
The day saw a first meeting in Courmayeur and then in the afternoon at Forte di Bard. “The issue of the tunnel,” emphasized the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, along with the presidents of Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont, Renzo Testolin and Alberto Cirio, “is fundamental for the economic development not only of Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont, but I would say of the entire North-West of Italy.” Doubling the tunnel, Tajani argues, “does not mean more pollution but the exact opposite, reducing pollution because there will be fewer queues on both sides.”
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For Francesco Turcato, president of Confindustria Valle d’Aosta, “from today’s meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, we did not get the answers we expected on the Mont Blanc tunnel.” If on the Italian side, Turcato reasons, “we welcome the full acceptance of the hypothesis of doubling the current tunnel, from the French side there is a minimal opening, to the possibility of starting a feasibility study on this hypothesis, which is what Confindustria believes to be the only sustainable one for the economy of the entire North-West. It’s not what I expected, but it’s something.” We will move forward, adds the president of the Valle d’Aosta industrialists, “I am sure the Government will do the same at the intergovernmental summit in Cannes on June 26.”
At the heart of the dialogue, therefore, is the future of the Tunnel, which for two years has been subject to periodic closures of about three months for extraordinary maintenance activities. The Mont Blanc tunnel, along with Terzo Valico and Alta Velocità, represents a key infrastructure for the development of the entire North-West area. “We are here to give a visual sign also from the government in favor of the construction of the second bore, to demonstrate how much attention there is from this government and from me as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister towards such an important issue. Every time we raise the issue, sometimes we make some progress, and I would like it to be placed on the agenda at the next Italo-French summit in Cannes because it is a fundamental issue for economic growth and environmental protection,” Tajani reiterated. France is the third destination market for Italian exports, with trade growing by 6% in 2025, the Farnesina notes.
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