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FILM

Stunning Paris pool immortalised in film ‘Amélie’ about to reopen

The Piscine des Amiraux, the stunning art deco swimming pool immortalised in the classic Paris film "Amélie", is to reopen to the public this month after a two-year, 10-million-euro makeover.

Published: 6 September 2017 12:18 CEST
Stunning Paris pool immortalised in film 'Amélie' about to reopen
Remi Mathis/WikiCommons
The municipal pool, situated in a backstreet in a very untouristy part of the 18th arrondissement of the capital, was built by the architect Henri Sauvage and first opened its doors in 1930.
 
It lies in the bowels of an eight-storey apartment building that features stepped balcony terraces and facades covered in the same white tiles used in the Paris metro.
 
Sauvage, who also designed the La Samaritaine department store building on rue de Rivoli, initially wanted a cinema to be built where the pool is but was overruled by the city hall, which had commissioned the building for social housing.
 
READ ALSO:
Piscine Amiraux. AFP. 
 
The pool has featured in several movies, most notably in the 2001 film “Amélie,” by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, a whimsical tale of a young Parisian woman, played by Audrey Tautou, who sets out to improve the lives of those around her.
 
But in recent years the ageing pool, officially listed as an historic monument since 1991, had fallen into disrepair and needed major renovation and modernising.
 
The 33-metre pool has now been demolished and rebuilt exactly as its architect had originally conceived it.
 
The exact date that the Piscine des Amiraux will throw open its doors to the public has not yet been announced, but it is set to happen before the end of the month.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Published: 14 February 2024 13:01 CET
Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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