Voters approve controversial French airport relocation

Majority in the local referendum on the Nantes Atlantique airport ends long battle between environmental activists and the government

Voters in western France gave the go-ahead Sunday to a controversial airport development that has been at the centre of a years-long battle between environmental activists and the government.

The local referendum on the new Nantes Atlantique airport passed with a 55% majority, ending a 50-year argument that saw the government's environment advisers resign in 2014.

Authorities argue that the new airport will provide a major boost to tourism in western France, but environmental campaigners have fiercely opposed the plans to build it on protected swampland just outside Nantes.

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