Martine Cohen sunbathes on a bench, in a small park that she particularly likes. This retired sociologist has made this little piece of greenery in the middle of Paris one of her battles, with her colleague Sylvie Bonnet, president of the “Sauvons Jules et Richard” association. Because on Monday May 13, the north and south gates of Square May-Picqueray must be removed, prior to the removal of gates of four squares in Paris, to create a “planted promenade”, a time compared to the “ramblas” of Barcelona . But for Martine Cohen, removing the gates is in some way killing a garden. Also its collective, associated with France Nature Environnement (FNE), filed an interim order in court on Monday, in order to suspend the work.
Between Bastille and Stalingrad, the canal winds sometimes uncovered or covered with squares. The idea of the town hall with this planted promenade project is, according to the file submitted to the Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate of the Environment, Planning and Transport (DRIEAT) – Île-de-France which we were able to consult , to “promote active mobility and modernize this relaxation space and make it more attractive”, by creating a cycle street, by greening the space a little more, by refurbishing the children’s games and finally, by promoting passages from one end to the other.
But, FNE’s lawyer criticizes, the project was cut according to him to avoid having to go through an environmental impact study, and above all, done without real consultation. “The European Union prohibits the splitting of a project. And the impact study is essential for sparrows, managing protected species, or to be able to say whether the public is attached to the grids… These procedures are not just paper,” thunders Maître Cofflard.
“European law says that environmental impacts must be assessed on the scale of the overall project but at no time does it say that authorization projects must be done all at once . Because we can’t finance everything at once. What we did completely respects the environmental code,” replies François Vauglin, the mayor of the 11th.
“The birds will no longer nest”
Basically, FNE Paris and “Sauvons Jules et Richard” consider the project problematic in its democratic, social and environmental dimensions. On this last point, the associations believe that removing the grids risks seriously affecting biodiversity. “The gates prevent humans or animals from crossing the hedges. And if we remove the grids, the birds will no longer nest, the microfauna in the ground will disappear with the trampling…”, worries Yves Contassot, co-president of FNE Paris. “It is paradoxical to see the Paris City Hall, in love with ecology, participating in the annual destruction of 23,500 kilometers of hedges in our country, […] by sacrificing those, forty years old, of boulevards Jules-Ferry and Richard-Lenoir”, Professor Jean-François Bayart, member of Save Jules and Richard, was moved in a blog.
The town hall seems to have clearly identified the risk, highlighted in its project submitted to Drieat, and it ensures that it has put in place “a specific protocol for submission”. But it seems difficult to assess its effectiveness a priori. The town hall also states that on Square Jules-Ferry, “another hedge” will be planted “right next to it” and that “the surface area of green spaces will increase by 70%”. How to compensate for the damage that the work could cause? Above all, specifies the mayor of the 11th, “on May-Picqueray, it is not on the agenda to remove the side grilles, the only work being undertaken today are the north and south grilles and the project on Square Jules-Ferry. »
“When we are behind hedges we are sheltered from the tumult”
Even before the loss of biodiversity, local residents fear above all a loss of tranquility. The idea of ramblas open day and night where revelers from Bastille and Stalingrad parade and of open parks which would shelter deals at night hardly enchants Sylvie Bonnet, president of “Save Jules and Richard”, who wants “the squares remain squares. “It has virtues to be in an enclosed place, when we are behind hedges we are sheltered from the tumult. A garden that can be closed at night to avoid “misuse” as they say, it works well,” agrees Philippe Khayat, from FNE Paris.
And if tranquility seems to be more of an adult concern, the children could also lose a little freedom in the process, since, once the gates are removed, the games that were open in the square will now be closed, as is the case. the obligation for children’s games. 20 minutes was already able to see the result on Tuesday, since a small slide was surrounded by a grid. “Anne Hidalgo and François Vauglin cage the children,” denounces Jean-François Bayart. “It’s the very abnegation of children’s right to have spaces to play,” adds Yves Contassot.
“The children will be able to continue to play, but these spaces must be useful for everyone, and people who are running or walking do not have to go all the way around. Opposite the median is completely open, and there is no deal problem. And when we see the grid which must be 30 m long, it makes no sense. And on the northern and southern grids, there are no trees or plants, so why talk about biodiversity? » argues François Vauglin.
No real consultation
However, strolling between the squares aligned along the axis seems logical after all. From the south gate of Square May-Picqueray, you can see the end of Square Bréguet-Sabin. But to get from one to the other, you have to go around, as nothing has been thought of to connect them. Why not at least put a gate here, which invites you to pass through the space? “But actually, they didn’t want a gate! », thunders Martine Cohen, who affirms that she could have easily accepted the opening on the south and north sides of the square “if there had been a real negotiation”.
Opponents of the project do not feel listened to. “Two meetings were organized at the 11th town hall by deputies Luc Lebon and Florent Hubert, one on June 26 and the other on 28 [2023]. […] Neither of these two meetings can be considered as consultation meetings. These were only information meetings without us being able to offer an alternative,” complains Sauvons Jules et Richard.
Subsequently, a questionnaire was put together by the TraitClair firm at the end of 2023 but it did not concern “the project itself but only the desired uses of the squares”, denounces the association. Only 600 people responded, while at the same time, more than 6,000 people rejected the town hall’s project in an online petition. “They tried to fool us, their way of consulting is a factory of consent, they consulted on the details,” storms Sylvie Bonnet. “Everything is done through lies and camouflage,” points out Yves Contassot.
The town hall defends itself by asserting that it has amended its project. “We evolved the project, and we proposed work different from that envisaged at the beginning,” specifies François Vauglin, the mayor of the 11th arrondissement.
“Transforming gardens into streets”
The Bréguet‐Sabin, Richard‐Lenoir, May‐Picqueray and Jules‐Ferry squares are not the only ones targeted by this dismemberment of the gates. Also on the list are Square Jean-XXIII near Notre-Dame and Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques, while Square Pasdeloup has already finished its transformation. Behind this transformation, there would therefore be a more general philosophy of opening closed places, which according to Sylvie Bonnet would target tourists more than the population.
Because the idea of openness may seem attractive at first glance, but does it work on a daily basis? In a column published on the Journal of Greater Paris, a historian, an urban architect and an architecture-city-landscape critic explain that this idea had, for example, already been tried for the square of the Tour Saint-Jacques in 1968, before the residents denounced “the lamentable state » and the “repulsive dirt” of the garden. This will finally be… closed again, in 1997. Chiara Santini, Bernard Landau and Gwenaël Querrien summarize this philosophy with these words: “By wanting to transform the entire space of the street into a garden, our city councilors ultimately risk transforming the gardens in the streets! »
To this striking aphorism, the mayor of the 11th responds with his experience as an elected official: “We had the same endless debate between those who wanted gates and those who did not want them for Truillot Square. Today when I do the test of sitting in this garden and observing people’s reactions, within a few minutes I have lots of people coming to say thank you. I never have that in a walled garden. Opening these gardens allows for general appropriation. we are in a model of public space where everyone can make it their own. »
