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Rare parachute jump over Paris the prize for hard-working trio

Something unusual will take place in Paris on Wednesday evening - three prize-winning parachutists will jump from a helicopter over the 7th arrondissement, not far from the Eiffel Tower.

Published: 24 May 2023 10:04 CEST
Rare parachute jump over Paris the prize for hard-working trio
If you go down to the Eiffel Tower in Paris tonight.... (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)

Flights below 2,000m over the capital have been outlawed since 1948, which means that this stunt required special permission from the préfecture de police de Paris.

The parachute drop is part of an awards ceremony at the École Militaire.

In a press release, the prefecture said that “on the occasion of the award ceremony of the Armed Forces Youth Prize, at the École Militaire in Paris and at the request of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, a specialised company will fly over the area and proceed to a drop of three parachutists.”

The overflight operation will be carried out by a twin-engine helicopter and is scheduled to last 1 hour and 45 minutes, between 7.30pm and 9.15pm. 

“In order to drop the parachutists over the École Militaire site, the aircraft will climb to a maximum altitude of 1,493 m in a working area located between the Île aux Cygnes, the National Assembly, the Necker hospital and the Blomet swimming pool,” the prefecture’s statement said.

The parachute jump prize is a special award for an action undertaken between a military and civilian organisation such a school, local community or an association. 

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PARIS

Paris petanque paradise makes pitch to avoid eviction

A storied Paris petanque club on Tuesday argued in court against a city eviction order, hoping to stay put in a private garden coveted by its boutique hotel neighbour.

Published: 19 September 2023 17:11 CEST
Paris petanque paradise makes pitch to avoid eviction

For 50 years, the leafy haven at the top of the Montmartre district has housed the Lepic-Abbesses Petanque Club (CLAP) and its 257 members, fans of France’s national bowling pastime.

The players oversee the upkeep of the 765 square metres of grounds, a rare remnant of the vegetation that once covered the butte, with the city giving tacit approval by hooking up water and electricity.

Even amid rapid gentrification and a surge of tourism the club maintained its Montmartre village vibe.

But last year, city officials warned the nonprofit club that it was squatting the site without any authorisation, and said it would consider rival projects for use of the public land.

The CLAP says its the victim of the luxury Hotel Particulier adjacent to the site, whose owner is a former club member who wants his own private garden.

The hotel recently was given a 12-year contract to operate the site, which the club vowed to fight in court.

“No work was ever done on the site” by the city, the club’s lawyer Sebastien Le Briero told the Paris administrative court, insisting that the club was the de-facto occupant ensuring a rare green space in the area.

Lawyers for the city countered that no contracts were ever signed, and that games lasting into the night, helped along with clubhouse beers, had prompted noise complaints.

More than 7,000 people have signed an online petition to save the CLAP, calling it an essential part of Montmartre, which is hoping to join UNESCO’s ranks of protected World Heritage Sites.

“We want to keep the site in its current state, while opening it up as much as possible to the neighbourhood,” Maxime Liogier, the club’s communications manager, told AFP during an open house to rally support last November.

The judge’s ruling is expected on September 25.

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