The start of greening for the capital. Closed for two and a half months, most of the capital's parks and gardens will reopen this Saturday morning, announced Edouard Philippe this Thursday evening, on the occasion of the presentation of phase 2 of the deconfinement. Pénélope Komitès, assistant to the town hall of Paris in charge of green spaces, nature in the city and biodiversity, presents the details of this reopening, which has long been demanded by the municipality.
How do you react to Edouard Philippe's announcements?
We are indeed delighted with the reopening of parks and gardens in Paris. That's what we've been asking for a month. We are relieved for Parisians, if only for public health issues. We saw the inhabitants on low walls, grouped around closed parks or crowded in small squares, which went against physical distancing measures. And in the working-class districts of Paris, people were in small dwellings, they were not confined to apartments with terraces. They couldn't take it anymore and they will be able to breathe in the parks.
When and how will the parks and gardens reopen?
Obviously, we did not wait for the announcements from Edouard Philippe to prepare because otherwise it was impossible to implement in such a short time. We have been working on it for several weeks to be able to reopen. We have cleaned the parks, blocked the playgrounds because we are waiting for the disinfection protocols from the State and the ARS which have still not arrived. We ordered hydroalcoholic gel when these play areas reopen. We keep getting busy and as of Saturday morning, most green spaces will reopen and this will be the case for all the major parks: Buttes-Chaumont, Monceau, Montsouris, Citroën, Belleville, etc.
Were you warned before this reopening?
No, and it would have been more pleasant to have been informed this morning rather than having to wait for Edouard Philippe's announcements this evening. But obviously, this is how this government works.
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- Covid 19
- Paris town hall
- Confinement
- Deconfinement
- Coronavirus
- Paris