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Veolia loses another contract in Bordeaux

The Big Campaign

14 April 2009

BIG: Veolia loses another contract in Bordeaux

The transportation branch of the French multinational corporation Veolia loses a contract worth 750 million euros in Bordeaux.

The Greater Bordeaux local government give a contract for the management of the biggest urban network in France to Keolis, a subsidiary of SNCF over Veolia. Veolia has been involved in the construction of a tramway in Jerusalem, designed to link West Jerusalem with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Veolia has now lost contracts that are worth more than $7.5 Billion in Stockholm, West Midlands (UK) and Bordeaux.

The transportation branch of the French multinational corporation Veolia just lost a contract worth 750 millions euros in Bordeaux.

This contract was about the management of the biggest urban network in France. It went to Keolis, a subsidiary of SNCF.

The Greater Bordeaux local government said that its decision was based on commercial factors, but the implication of Veolia in a controversial tramway project in Jerusalem (the “Jerusalem light railway”) provoked intense debates everywhere.

Indeed French corporations Veolia and Alstom have been called into question for several years because of their participation in a project to build a tramway in Jerusalem, designed to link West Jerusalem (Israel) with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This contract has caused great controversy on the political ethics of Veolia.

The General Manager for France of Veolia Transport, Francis Grass, said that Veolia has “very important questions […], the feeling that things are not done fairly” … In fact, Veolia’s involvement in the situation of apartheid has already lead to the loss of several contracts, and this is just the beginning.

BDS group Bordeaux / bdsbordeaux@gmail.com