By Benoît Collet
Sinister, the dilapidated concrete structure plunges its feet into the Seine. Abandoned for years, the Mariniers pier, straddling Gennevilliers and Villeneuve la Garenne, opposite Ile-de-Saint-Denis, runs its mass of concrete over several hundred meters in the middle of vegetation. After having partly collapsed, the pier was closed to traffic several years ago, to the delight of birds and bats, who find refuge under the structure, on the edge of the Natura 2000 area. of Ile-Saint-Denis.
The community is imagining an elevated promenade, using pontoons on stilts, which would offer beautiful views of the Seine. Total cost: 15 million euros.
In October, the Hauts-de-Seine department announced the deconstruction of the boom and the “renaturation” of the banks of the Seine at this location. The community is imagining an elevated promenade, thanks to a system of pontoons on stilts, which would offer walkers beautiful views of the Seine. Total cost of the project: 15 million euros, with financial assistance from the Seine-Normandie water agency and the Ile-de-France region.
“Pedestrian and cycle paths will be created to encourage gentle and sustainable modes of travel. The consolidation of the banks will, for its part, secure the site while protecting the natural habitats,” explains the department, which aims to include its project in a blue promenade, a regional project aimed at connecting the banks of Hauts-de- Seine through a continuous network of paths.
Launched for public inquiry in December, the project has already encountered opposition from several local environmental associations, already very angry against the Greendock mega-warehouse project, a stone’s throw from the Mariniers pier.
A renaturation based on tree uprooting
“In spirit, we are obviously in favor of destroying the concrete. But this renaturation project involves uprooting 47 trees to replant species not adapted to this humid environment. It will completely destabilize a very rich ecosystem,” denounces Florence Léger, president of the Friends of Port Sisley, an association of boatmen who are members of the Let’s Preserve the Banks of the Seine collective. “Naturalist studies carried out by our associations have documented the movement of numerous species of birds from one bank to another. The overcrowding of the site will disrupt this wild life, so precious in Ile-de-France. All this so that the department can show off its 15 million euro showcase,” continues Florence Léger.
Measures announced for wildlife
As part of the public inquiry, which took place last December, the regional and interdepartmental directorate for the environment, planning and transport (DRIEAT) recommended “to better take into account the preservation of ecological functions existing species and species associated with the fluvial riparian belt, and to guarantee the maintenance of areas of tranquility for fauna, particularly protected ones”.
“If the public authorities persist on this project, it is not impossible that the Earth Uprisings will step up to the plate, as with Greendock.”
“In order to provide peaceful spaces during the work phase and after, environmental measures adapted to local fauna will be put in place: hibernacula for the wall lizard, artificial nest boxes for bats and nest boxes for nesting birds,” replied Egis, the public works company commissioned by the Hauts de Seine department to lead the site. “If the public authorities persist on this project, it is not impossible that the Earth Uprisings will step up to the plate, as they did for Greendock,” replies Florence Léger. To be continued…
