Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

PARIS

In Pictures: Paris mayor unveils plan to create four ‘urban forests’ in city centre

Some of the French capital's most famous sites are set for a green makeover, with plans to create four 'urban forests' in the pipeline, the Paris mayor has revealed.

Published: 14 June 2019 14:05 CEST
In Pictures: Paris mayor unveils plan to create four 'urban forests' in city centre
Palais Garnier is one of the symbolic sites in central Paris set for a green makeover. Photo: Ville de Paris/Apur/Luxigon
The areas set to be rejuvenated with some fresh foliage are Hôtel de Ville in the 4th arrondissement, Gare de Lyon in the 12th, Palais Garnier in the 9th and along part of the banks of the Seine, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced. 
 
“We have an obligation to act today to avoid making this city impossible to live in down the road,” she said in an exclusive interview with Le Parisien.  
 
“We will use one of the two pedestrian lanes on the Right Bank of the Seine, while the other road will remain paved for the purposes of emergency vehicles,” she said. 
 
READ ALSO:
Right Bank/Ville de Paris/Luxigon
 
At Hôtel de Ville and Gare de Lyon, the plan is to create 'urban forests' above the car parks,” said Hidalgo, adding that at Palais Garnier the forest will be planted behind the building. 
 
There are also plans for trees will also be planted on smaller sites, such as Rue Louis-Blanc (10th) and Boulevard Pasteur (15th). 
 
She added that there are also plans for a planted walk from La Villette to Buttes-Chaumont in the 19th. 
 
Gare de Lyon/Ville de Paris/Apur/Luxigon
 
And Hidalgo doesn't appear to be wasting any time, with the forests set to appear during 2020. 
 
In her interview with Le Parisien, the mayor said consultations would be held “with the mayors of the arrondissements concerned and residents”, and a debate will be held in Paris Council.
 
But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the plans have not been well received by everybody.
 
Hôtel de Ville/Ville de Paris/Apur/Luxigon
 
The mayor's announcement in Le Parisien provoked the ire of opposition politicians who protested the move at the Paris Council on Thursday night.
 
“While sitting in council for three days dealing with urban projects, we discover in a newspaper that the mayor plans not to decide (in assembly) but in her office and then announce it to the press,” politician Eric Azière told the French press.
 
Another opposition politician in the Paris Council Danielle Simonnet said the mayor's method showed a “contempt for democratic debate”. 

Member comments

  1. Every country is packed with idiots on their i-phones who love cars and asphalt and hate (or “don’t get, duh”) nature, not noticing that IT’S “nature” which (for just a while longer) is the only thing that ever sustained their “lifestyle.” Ah well. Go Anne!

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

SHOW COMMENTS