Parisians battle to rescue ancient trees from axe at ponds made famous by painter
RESIDENTS of a Paris suburb are fighting a plan to cut down ancient linden trees lining two ponds painted by Jean-baptiste-camille Corot, the 19th century artist.
A petition to stop the authorities removing the trees as part of work to strengthen the pond embankments and prevent flooding has gathered nearly 3,000 signatures in a few days.
The two ponds in the western suburb of Ville d’avray were made famous by Corot in around 300 paintings in the mid-1800s. Now known as the Étangs
de Corot (the Corot Ponds), the tranquillity of the site attracts thousands of visitors and art lovers each year.
The campaign to save the trees, many of which were depicted in Corot’s paintings, has won the support of
Stéphane Bern, a television presenter appointed by Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to raise funds to preserve the nation’s heritage.
“Of course we have to do something about the risk of flooding but are we really obliged to destroy the landscape,” the broadcaster asked.
Hélene Seychal, a local councillor, said: “The place will be totally disfigured if the work goes ahead as planned. We aren’t challenging the reason for the work, just the way it’s being done. We want a solution to this problem that preserves the trees.”
The ponds have been a national heritage site since 1936 but the authorities say an embankment is in danger of collapsing and flooding homes. Vincent Berton, secretary-general of the Hautsde-seine prefecture, said: “More than 1,000 people are exposed to the risk. This is our responsibility.”
Arnaud Vuille, administrator of the nearby Saint-cloud park, said as many trees as possible would be conserved but some would have to be cut down.