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- Square Jean XXIII (jardin de l’Archevêché)
Photo : Chris Waits (CC BY 2.0), avril 2011 - See the image in its page
As part of the major national project to rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris, the City of Paris has planned to redevelop the areas around the cathedral that extend from the square to the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité.
We ask you to stop this project as a matter of urgency and to review it, giving priority to the simple restoration of Square Jean XXIII, which is currently being used as a construction site for the Notre-Dame works.
The rejection of this project is unanimous, as is the case for the project to concrete the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Indeed the petition has exceeded 43,000 signatories in barely a week and concern is growing in public opinion.
In the autumn of 2021, the public and our associations were given the opportunity to express their opinions, and an overwhelming majority, more than 80%, agreed that the Tower’s surroundings should be preserved and restored to their original state, particularly Square Jean XXIII (formerly the Archbishop’s Garden).
From the outset, our associations had demanded great respect for the spirit of the place and its memory, an improvement of the existing and, above all, the care and maintenance of the spaces. We still hope to be heard and we urgently request a meeting with the institutional actors concerned to make our objections better known.
Indeed, the City of Paris has organised an international competition in 2021 without taking into account the results of the prior consultation. It has chosen to change the functions of the site: the Île de la Cité, a heritage walkway, would become a festive area for picnics and aperitifs, and the Square de l’Île-de-France would be partly developed for events, destroying hedges and lawns.
In the winning project by the landscapist Bas Smets, the Square Jean XXIII and the Square de l’Île-de-France are to become a single, large space that is permanently accessible: the gates enclosing the gardens are to be removed, the lawns, which were previously protected from trampling by low gates, are to be freely accessible, the design for the gardens is to be completely changed and the flowerbeds, which were appreciated by all and which were a large part of the beauty of the site, are also to be removed. In addition, some remarkable trees are threatened with extinction.
The historic furniture - which is part of Paris’ heritage and to which a large majority of Parisians and visitors are attached - is being replaced in part by contemporary furniture, cold and without identity, like that seen in the Nelson-Mandela garden (Jardin des Halles), notably concrete benches and tree towers. Similarly, the inlays on the square in front of Notre-Dame showing the shops and alleys of old Paris are destined to disappear.
Square Jean XXIII, located at the head of Notre-Dame, is one of the oldest and most picturesque squares in Paris. Much photographed, it was until the fire a restful place to stroll and sit away from the hustle and bustle of the square. Its gates were installed from 1840 onwards and have protected it to this day from incivilities, particularly at night.
The more recent Square de l’Île-de-France is a haven of peace closely linked to the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation. The whole area is deliberately isolated from the external tumult by hedges and gates, which will also be removed in Bas Smets’ project. As a plaque at the entrance indicates, it is a "High Place of National Remembrance", a place of remembrance.
Here is what we reproach the project with if it were to be built as it is:
– These gardens with their unique identities will be reduced to a large, uniform, open, uncluttered and charmless space. The removal of their enclosed character, their historic urban furniture, their drawing and their flower beds will completely distort the spirit of the place.
– Lawns that are left freely accessible on a site that will be heavily used will not be able to remain in good condition. We recently had the unfortunate example of this at the Champ-de-Mars.
– The opening of these squares at night will lead, as we have seen elsewhere in Paris, to nuisance, insecurity and incivility.
– Trees will be removed or doomed to disappear. A tamarisk tree, classified as a remarkable tree, would be cut down. Seven trees are on the route of the alley that is to be created and will therefore be sacrificed. This path will border on several very large plane trees which will necessarily be weakened. Finally, the four magnificent mulberry trees in the Memorial garden cannot survive the various changes in the terrain in this area.
– The perforation of the quay - no less than fourteen bays would be opened onto the Seine, thus destroying the chains that punctuate the Maurice-Carême promenade - seems to us to be a completely unacceptable attack on the historic site, while the closed door and window frames remain on site and could be used.
– Finally, the absence of any integration in the project of a Musée de l’Œuvre, dedicated to the presentation of the fragments of the rood screen that have been uncovered and the reunited Mays of the cathedral - which our President of the Republic says he is thinking about - seems to us to be regrettable and ignores the only real heritage added value of a redevelopment of the surroundings of Notre-Dame.
Let us remember that the gardens and the quays are protected as part of the cathedral’s surroundings, which are classified as Historic Monuments, and are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
For these reasons, we would like the project to be revised and, in particular, as was desired and decided for the cathedral and its spire, that the Square Jean XXIII and Île-de-France squares be restored to the state they were in before the fire and maintained; we would like the gates in these squares to be kept as heritage elements to protect the spaces from incivilities, particularly at night.
We urgently request that a meeting be organised with all the institutions involved in the project to renovate the area around Notre-Dame in order to find out more about the current state of this project, to point out, in our opinion, the serious risks incurred in safeguarding a priceless cultural and natural heritage, and to examine with you the possible developments.
In the hope that, Monsieur le Président de la République, Madame la Ministre de la Culture, Madame la Maire de Paris, Monsieur le Préfet de la région Île-de-France, you will listen to the unanimous voice of the associations, Parisians and all lovers of Paris who cherish the modest heritage and the spirit of the place, we ask you to accept the expression of our deep consideration.
Signatories:
Associations
SOS Paris
Sites & Monuments
France Nature Environnement Paris
Association pour la sauvegarde et la mise en valeur du Paris historique
Association pour la défense du site de Notre-Dame et ses environs
Groupe National de Surveillance des Arbres
A.R.B.R.E.S.
Union Parisienne
Histoire & Patrimoine de Paris 17e
ASA PNE
Monts 14
Respiration Paris 15
Individual signatories
Stéphane Bern, Emmanuel Delarue, Jacques Desse, Quentin Divernois, Baptiste Gianeselli, Didier Rykner.