To better protect the heritage of Paris, Rachida Dati announced this Thursday, November 28, 2024 the installation of a committee. This aims to implement the protection of the “Paris, banks of the Seine” complex and its surroundings. This area of more than 3,600 hectares concerns “the majority of Parisian districts“, indicates the ministry in a press release, making 10 in total.
“This will make it possible to safeguard and protect all the heritage elements and the urban fabric of this complex. Any demolition, damage or alteration of this exceptional heritage will now be impossible“, the administration continues. “For the first time, the heritage of Paris will be protected.”
Already registered with UNESCO
This announcement follows UNESCO's decision last July to extend the area of the “Paris, banks of the Seine” heritage complex to include newly protected sectors, such as the Jardin des Plantes and the northern part of the Champs-Élysées.
The “banks of the Seine” were listed by UNESCO in 1991. According to the United Nations, the entire property has six classified sites, including the Esplanade des Invalides, the Champ-de-Mars and the Trocadéro gardens. Furthermore, under the heading of Historical Monuments, all major monuments are classified in their entirety.
Acclaim and criticism
Several heritage defense associations welcomed the minister's decision on social networks. “The establishment of this committee is perhaps the first step in the extension of the Remarkable Heritage Sites in Paris (SPR), which today only concerns the Marais and the 7th arrondissement.“, hopes a heritage expert, Baptiste Gianeselli.
But others have criticized this announcement, affirming that this position is a political manipulation. Rachida Dati, already district mayor, has made no secret of her desire to be a candidate in the 2026 Paris municipal elections.
The chief of staff of the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of Overseas Territories, Yannick Hope, writes: “who could imagine 'protecting the heritage of Paris' by reopening the riverbank lanes to cars, this promenade along the Seine so popular with families, visitors and sports enthusiasts and already listed as a UNESCO world heritage site? Spoiler: Rachida Dati!“A message referring to the position of the minister who said, in 2020, that she wanted to commit to reopening “certain sections” of the riverbank routes.
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