The very mineral square of Paris City Hall (also called Esplanade de la Libération) will soon be adorned with green. An urban forest will in fact be developed there by the summer of 2025. This new wooded area will contain more than 2,500 m² of green spaces, including 1,000 m² in open ground. In detail, large trees will be planted on either side of the square, while a forest cover of shrubs and ferns will appear on the square. In total, 20,000 plants, including 90 trees, will be planted. There you will find species traditionally present in the region such as oaks and hornbeams, but also some resistant to global warming, such as the Julian hackberry and the American honeylocust.
In the near future, the riverbank tracks, the Garnier opera house and the Lyon station square should be subject to similar developments.
The existing fountains will be preserved and integrated into the whole. A space capable of hosting events or shows will be preserved in the middle of the tree-lined square. But if it will be cooler in summer, it will also be smaller. The work will last (in several phases) from October 16, 2024 to June 2025, for a budget of 6 million euros. As a reminder, until 1982, when it was pedestrianized, the old Place de Grève was a roundabout for cars.
This is the third urban forest to emerge in Paris. The first was that of Place de la Catalogne (14th arrondissement), a former roundabout used for cars which has become a green space of 4,000 m² of forest (470 trees, including 270 large and medium-sized, and 200 young trees of two to four years), including 860 m² of clearing, for a budget of 9.6 million euros.
Other forests planned in Paris
The second, called Bois de Charonne, is located in the 20th arrondissement, on part of the small belt, this old railway line which once surrounded Paris. More precisely near the Porte de Montreuil (adjacent to the Charonne station garden). For years, the small belt has been the delight of fans of unauthorized walks (access was theoretically prohibited), but over the years ever larger portions have been released to the public. In the case of the Charonne woods, more than 7,500 trees and forest plants were planted, partly financed by a participatory budget. In total, local residents have access to 3.5 hectares of walking space. In the near future, the riverbank tracks, the Garnier opera house and the Lyon train station square should be subject to similar developments.
F. H.
