Urban forest on the square in front of Paris town hall: what to really expect?

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This was one of Anne Hidalgo's campaign promises. After the Place de Catalogne (14th) and the Bois de Charonne (20th), the creation of a third “urban forest» is underway on the square in front of the Town Hall. Work began in October 2024, for a green space at summer 2025 . It will remain far from the ambitious foliage imagined in the first drafts.

An obstacle in the basement

No more question of plant in open ground along the entire length of the Town Hall: the presence of an underground car park would have required replacing its first underground level “with earth and reinforcing the structures which support it”, explained the municipality in 2020. She ultimately decided not to modify the structure of the car park “for reasons of ecological and economic sobriety”.

Two open spaces will nevertheless be installed “next to the two fountains, on either side of the parking lot”. Above, on the central part, undergrowth plants and ferns will be installed to create “a forest atmosphere”.

This reduced vegetation will also make it possible to maintain the reception capacity of the esplanade. “A new living space will be redesigned, which will continue to host major events in a space certainly less vast, but cooler and more pleasant due to its vegetation”, illustrates the municipality.

90 trees planted for the summer

In total, 90 trees already aged 15 to 25 and 20,000 plants will be planted, for a total of 2,500 m² of planted areas, including 1,000 m² in open ground. You will find native Ile-de-France species there, such as oaks and hornbeams. “Species adapted to higher temperatures” will be planted, such as the Julian hackberry and the American honeylocust.

THE side fountainswill be preserved, but they will no longer be in water. “They will be fully integrated into the development as vegetation supports, beginning and extending the planted spaces,” describes the municipality.

A project criticized

The transformation of the esplanade will cost 6 million eurosaccording to Paris forecasts. The budget includes studies, project design and all work.

If the municipality welcomes in advance the comparison between the future square and the old roundabout which occupied the square in the 1970s, on social networks, critical voices were quick to rise. The first artists' views of the project were brought out and mocked. “Anne Hidalgo lied in 2020 with this unrealistic visual,” believes the opposition group Changer Paris.

The work schedule

The work, which began on October 16, 2024, will last untilJune 2025 . They begin with the noisiest phase of operations, scheduled until the end of November. Several stages are planned. First, the renovation of the sewers, until December 9. Then the creation of planters in the ground from December 9 to January 15. The planting of trees and the installation of protective grilles around the planters will follow until March 31, 2025.

Finally, from April 1 to June 30, workers will tackle the repair of the central reservation. “Access to the square is prohibitedthroughout the work period, but pedestrian traffic around the site area and access to neighboring buildings remains possible at all times,” warns the town hall.

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