"Oh that one, it's beautiful!
It smells rich here!
Proud of her find, Agathe brandishes her trophy, the remains of a large cigar that she has just started, which she has just flushed out between two cobblestones.
Undoubtedly the pearl of his collection of rogatons of cigarettes which grows visibly in its plastic bottle.
Rue Pierre-Charron (VIIIe), in the heart of the chic district of Paris, a stone's throw from the luxury boutiques of avenue Marceau, not a dead leaf but cigarette butts are collected by the shovel: that was the whole purpose of the first Ma Terre challenge, organized by the association 0 Mégot in partnership with our newspaper, this Saturday, February 12.
Posted next to a large cast iron ashtray at No. 68, Christophe, an advertising photographer, went down to grill one, approved.
“It's great what you do, it goes into the sewage and then after that it ends up in the ocean.
The earth is not doing very well, it's a bit like humans, so thank you!
A little further on, a neat passerby ticks: "It's up to the town hall to do it, not up to you", he grumbles, shocked "that we've come to this".
Agathe does not notice: “Too easy, the problem is that we are not there anymore”, she is content to retort in her teeth…
Read alsoHow Landerneau entered the zero butt era
This Saturday morning, it was therefore a day of major cleaning, around the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe for the association 0 mégot, the same one which had organized in May the descent of the Seine by four swimmers to raise awareness of the journey of these old filters that end up in the sea.
"A cigarette butt is arsenic, cadmium, heavy metals such as mercury or lead, once at sea, just one is enough to pollute 500 liters of water, it's a real chemical bomb" insists Matthieu Witvoet, one of the members of this gang of four.
For this eco-adventurer who crossed Lake Titicaca (between Bolivia and Peru) with the vice-world champion in disabled sport Théo Curin, the challenge was to tackle the showcase of Paris, the Champs-Élysées, also one of the most stripped-down avenues in the capital, with, he says, “three visits a day by municipal teams”.
230 volunteers responded
Armed with bags and gloves, 230 volunteers responded to the challenge, not far from the Élysée Palace.
Among the small troop, Mathis, a young engineer, Philippe, a teacher from Val-d'Oise with some students, Maud, real estate agent, Christine, a retiree.
Their common point: to make visible, the invisible.
"The cigarette butts are the plastics that pollute the oceans the most so either we complain, and nothing will change, or we move on", summarizes Philippe.
“Come on, we're having fun, there's no obligation, if we're fed up, we stop.
»
VIDEO.
Paris: 100,000 cigarette butts collected in 1h30 by 230 volunteers on the Champs-Elysées
The collection begins, under the leadership of Alexis, neon green T-shirt, self-proclaimed leader of circuit no. 6 and follower of the gentle method: it doesn't work either,” says this member of the association. “If it's not you, who will?
» .
"The feet of trees, lawns, Vélib' stations, there is nothing better"
Neither one nor two, here is Agathe, who has hired her friend, Claire, – herself coming with her family, her nose bent over the asphalt.
The cigarette butt nests, this employee of a large temporary work group, spot them at 10 m.
"The feet of trees, lawns, Vélib' stations, there is no better," smiles this activist from Racines Profondes, a development aid association that fights against the invasion of plastic waste that is destroying cities. and landscapes of Africa.
These clean walks, as they are called in association jargon, she misses almost none: “In our way, we are whistleblowers.
When people see us, a bag in hand, they are intrigued, they come to us, we discuss, this type of very simple action is much more fertile than big speeches, ”assures this enthusiast of the environmental cause.
His worst memory?
Boulevard Exelmans, in the 16th arrondissement: “There, it's like people are emptying their ashtrays into the gutter, a horror!
»
At his side, Gabriel, 18, works hard.
He has already filled two bottles of cigarette butts in barely half an hour: "It's sure that if all this ends up eaten by fish, it makes you think," says this young smoker, who has just received his insurance card. voter and does not really know what to do with it.
"We don't want to weigh in on his choice, but if it could at least make him decide to quit smoking," Claire breathes aside.
It's 12:45 p.m.
After spending more than an hour and a half at ground level, it's time for the weigh-in.
On a large blue tarpaulin, a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe, the smelly heap goes up and up... Result: 100,000 cigarette butts.
"In an hour and a half, in the middle of winter, on what is supposed to be the most beautiful avenue in the world, it's sad, we expected half as much," sighs Matthieu Witvoet.