Another example of foot-dragging by Chirac's governments is the once-firmly-planned high-speed link between Bordeaux and the Mediterranean (Narbonne) via Toulouse, that has been left dangling in spite of repeated demands from the Midi-Pyrénées region.

The present government backs a plan for a second international airport for Toulouse on the grounds that the first will not be able to handle air traffic in the future. Toulouse is on the "TGV" map richardk provided, in the blue 5-6 hour zone. That is, the train you get on in Toulouse is a true TGV, but runs as a regular express train for more than half the trip to Paris via Bordeaux. That takes 5h 20mn. So the Toulouse-Paris (700 km/440 miles) air shuttle is hugely used. Circular argument by which the authorities justify the need for a new airport...

A full TGV link would put Toulouse at 3h 30mn from Paris and would probably cut air shuttle traffic by half.