Finally the town hall of Paris will not cut down any tree at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Anne Hidalgo, mayor of the city, confirmed this Monday evening by relaying on her Twitter account a message from the deputy for green spaces and biodiversity, Christophe Najdovski. “The project will be reviewed so that each tree is preserved”says the deputy.
The town hall thus wants to put an end to the controversy that has been swelling for several days now about a redevelopment project around the Eiffel Tower – the “OnE” project – which planned to vegetate and “pedestrianize” the surroundings of the Trocadéro and the Lady of iron, while removing certain trees that are sometimes centenarians. Already on Saturday, Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy mayor of Paris, had assured that no century-old tree would be cut down.
A project denounced by several associations and personalities including the journalist Hugo Clément. A petition launched on the change.org site has gathered more than 100,000 signatures since Saturday.
According to the town hall, the redevelopment of the Eiffel Tower district should make it possible to plant more than 200 new trees and create 1.7 hectares of green space. Anne Hidalgo has made the greening of the capital a major objective of her second term.