AFTES 2025 General Assembly

The French Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (AFTES) gathered its members on Thursday, 11 December 2025, at the Fédération Nationale des Travaux Publics in Paris for its annual General Assembly. This key institutional moment provided an opportunity to review a particularly active and formative year for the entire underground community.

A dynamic 2024–2025 overview

The session opened with the presentation of the 2024–2025 activity and moral report by Hubert Tournery, President of AFTES, accompanied by the board members: Magali Schivre, Yann Rouillard, François Laigle, Philippe Millard, Pascal Guedon, Lou Caron, Morgane Bertrand, Michel Deffayet, Alain Mercusot and Denis Branque.
This retrospective shed light on the actions undertaken throughout the year and the projects driven by the association.

An exceptional conference on the Grand Paris Express TBMs

A highlight of the General Assembly was the special conference dedicated to the feedback on the tunnel boring machines used for the Grand Paris Express. Thierry Huyghues-Beaufond (Société du Grand Paris) and Guy Lechantre (Herrenknecht) shared their insights on the technical lessons learned, the innovations deployed, and the challenges encountered on this extraordinary project.

France proudly represented at the ITA Awards

The General Assembly was also an opportunity to commend the company BESSAC, winner of the 1st prize in the Technical Innovation category at the 2025 ITA Awards. The award, presented to Augustin Morando, highlights the company’s strong capacity for innovation and its contribution to technological progress in mechanized tunnelling.

Celebrating tomorrow’s talent with the AFTES Student Competition

The ceremony continued with the awarding of the AFTES Student Competition prizes, led by Yann Leblais.
Congratulations to Joëlle Saliba, the overall winner of this edition, as well as to finalists David Simoes and Alice Bergerie, whose work reflects the enthusiasm and commitment of the younger generation.

A convivial moment to conclude

The event closed with a friendly reception, providing participants with an ideal setting for discussion, experience-sharing, and strengthening ties within the sector’s professional community.