in Montmartre, the pedestrianization of the Butte is controversial

Behind institutional communication and the promise of a “beautified” neighborhood, a mines champagne. The public meeting on Thursday January 16, 2025, at 62, rue Lepic, in Paris (18th), had the false air of an ambush for the elected officials of the district town hall and the few municipal technicians who came to present the area project pedestrian on the Butte Montmartre. In an onion row facing a full, white-hot roomthe latter endured blows from local residents for almost two hours.

La Butte is transformed into a pedestrian area

Briefly presented in the monthly magazine distributed in the mailboxes of residents of the 18th arrondissement, the pedestrianization of Haut Montmartre has, on paper, advantages to promote. Integrated into the Beautify your neighborhood (EVQ) approach in 2022, the Butte will in this context be more green and adapt “to new uses”, according to the town hall.

Concretely, 40% of parking spaces will be eliminated (which corresponds to 700 places, including 300 on the top of the Butte), new traffic speed limits will be introduced and certain streets will be closed by barriers, among other things.

Work started on November 18, 2024 and which expected to last until August 31, 2025. With three priorities, listed during the public meeting by Antoine Dupont, the deputy mayor of the 18th district in charge of mobility, roads and the transformation of public space: reducing pollution, giving more space to pedestrians and vegetate.

Without real consultation beforehand

So much for the pitch broadcast on municipal channels. In fact, a certain number of issues are raised by local residents. Starting – precisely – with the lack of communication from town hall. “It’s always the same, we are not consulted, then we are presented with a project already in progress. Is it a proposal or a decision? », annoys a silver-haired Montmartre. And to add succinctly: “I can no longer talk about it without getting angry…”

Throughout the meeting, the lack of consultation and information on the project will be repeatedly criticized by elected officials, by the neighborhood's diehards, as well as newcomers. “I have lived here for decades, I have perspective… We just ask to be consulted,” regrets a dark-haired woman behind her tinted glasses. President of the Vivre à Montmartre association, created in 1999 against a project to pedestrianize the district, already, and relaunched on December 3, Anne Renaudie is full of support.

“The decision to establish a pedestrian zone in completely eliminating public parking in a perimeter of 20 streets was not the subject of a real consultation, she deplores. Residents, particularly those in Haut Montmartre, were not informed by post of the direct consequences of this project on their daily lives. Worse still, during the 2022 pseudo-consultation, the pedestrianization project was not never been presented clearly nor subject to a real citizen vote. »

Which raises a mountain of problems

But beyond the lack of communication, the crux of the problem mainly concerns the town hall's desire to eliminate all parking spaces (apart from a dozen parking spaces dedicated to people with reduced mobility), even for residents.

A small woman with short white hair stands up and grabs the microphone:

You are creating an amusement park for us… When I do my shopping, I have to climb the steps with my bags. I have been working for forty years, my back hurts. Leave us a few seats!

-

“We are on the Butte since 1976but today we can no longer go up there. Coming home with a potato sack is very hard. Our friends, from the Paris region or the provinces, can no longer come. And what do you do when you call a craftsman?», exasperates another. Perhaps it would be ingenious to look at what is being done well elsewhere suggests a local resident: “In Italy, they have introduced a parking ban in tourist areas, except for residents! And it works wonderfully. »

Anne Renaudie continues: “By eliminating public parking in these 20 streets, you harm low-income families who cannot afford 300 euros per month for private parking. »

Appearance project or real solution?

The feeling that the City of Paris is gradually transforming this popular district into a spot exclusively dedicated to tourists and the ultra-rich was, moreover, the other major area of ​​discontent among the residents present at the public meeting.

Under his beige cap, a man moans. “You can limit it [le stationnement]remove some places, but not all! This is a need for us, the residents. When I travel to Paris, I do so by bike, but for professional or family reasons, I need to take my car… We have the feeling that you develop a city for Airbnb and not for us. »

And Anne Renaudie summarized the opinion of a good part of the people present in a few sentences: “Why invest 5.5 million euros to beautify a district already among the most green in Paris, to calm a traffic already low and pedestrianize a predominantly residential area? These expenses, certainly laudable in appearance, do they not risk forgetting the fundamental issue which is that of the daily life of the inhabitants of Montmartre? Should urban policy focus on appearance projects or on solutions that truly improve the lives of residents? »

For the record, a study by the Parisian Urban Planning Workshop (Apur) revealed – based on data on social networks – that the most photographed monument in Parisin 2024 had been the Sacred Heart.

The perimeter of the pedestrian area could be revised

At an impasse, the 18th arrondissement town hall therefore confessed, through its deputy Antoine Dupont, that it was open to the idea of ​​significantly revising its initial plan .

“We paused certain works, which were widening the sidewalks, and we put in place a working group with five or six peoplewho will represent all the inhabitants, confided the city councilor. The pedestrian area project will not be called into question in its entirety, but its scope could be revised. We had worked like that at Goutte d’or and we ended up finding an agreement. »

In this sense, a first meeting was held on January 10 and another is to take place on the 31stat the town hall. A way to further match institutional communication with the real needs of residents.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.