"It seemed funny to me, say-so, the cabins, it's over, they're on the ground," says Thérèse, tenant of a plot on the Fort d'Aubervilliers (93). The 92-year-old retiree had planned to come pick some beans, but she must leave empty-handed. This morning, the police evacuated the workers' garden of the Vertus, an enclave of greenery planted at the foot of several popular districts of Pantin and Aubervilliers. About fifteen environmental activists had taken up residence there for four months to defend the 4,000 m2 of land threatened by the construction of an aquatic center. Two of them were taken into custody, before being released a few hours later.
“I had a plot on the site which is threatened and which is being scraped by the excavators. So I have my vegetables which are being crushed. I am disgusted. I've had this plot for two years and now everything I've done is over, ”laments Viviane, a gardener who has been struggling for a few months. "We must shine, these are the Olympics", opines Marie, another gardener, in reference to the Olympic swimming pool project which will take place on the land just destroyed. In front of some worried residents, the retiree recalls the importance of this little green lung: “I know people who need these gardens for food. There are still quite a few elderly people and for them it is vital ”.
The prefecture recalled that these plots were "illegally occupied". "The restoration and security work has started and has started to allow the resumption of the sites", she specified.