Ugh. Of these, Paris–Calais and the Pyrenees crossing did strike me as castles on a cloud, and the other two in the south fall under the "not without a long-term vision" category, but the two non-high-speed projects and the western and southern branch of the LGV Rhin-Rhône are a real shame. And the argumentation is idiotic.

I see in the article that the end of the eastern branch of the LGV Rhin-Rhône and the Poitiers Limoges spur were relegated to "second choice" (whatever that means). What about LGV PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Montpellier–Perpignan, and the second line to Lyon? Did they escape the axe or were they axed earlier?

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}