“Look behind me, we felled magnificent plane trees!
In a video posted on the social network Twitter, environmental activist Thomas Brail, founder of the National Tree Monitoring Group (GNSA), cannot believe his eyes.
"I did not expect such a big disaster," he explains.
The climbing arborist, defender of trees, films live the felling of 76 large plane trees out of the 250 planned for the development of the Porte de Montreuil decided by the Paris City Hall.
The project includes offices on the ring road, a recycling center, a large flea market and... the planting of new trees.
Read alsoParis: environmental associations cause real estate projects planned above the ring road to falter
On small panels installed by the Paris City Hall around the site, this inscription: “In the long term a positive assessment for the new public space”.
The project foresees the planting of 216 additional trees.
A message that Thomas Brail finds hard to believe.
“These trees can live for 500 years.
Why cut them?
The young trees that are going to be planted will have a hard time getting through the predicted heat waves”.
“It is an aberration, denounces Danielle Simonnet, councilor of Paris, elected of the XXth (LFI).
The associations and the inhabitants are not really concerted and it is the private interests which predominate the social and ecological imperative”.
On the side of the town hall, we refused to speak on the subject facing the camera.
A statement received by email indicates that 110 trees in the area are "weakened" or in a state of "irreversible decline".
Yet on the online impact studies on the website of the Town Hall of the XXth, most of the trees felled along the ring road are classified in good or average sanitary condition, far from the bad condition announced.
“You leave in the morning, there are trees and you come back in the evening there are no more.
They tell you they are sick.
This argument, it no longer holds, annoys Thomas Brail.
On the videos we can see it well, all the trunks were healthy.
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“A tree that falls, I don't agree, gets angry Abdallah, a resident of the neighborhood.
All that to replace with what?
Concrete ?
Or plastic trees?
".
Marie-Jeanne, also a local resident, has another opinion: “It will make it brighter.
There was also a lot of unsanitary conditions, which is also why these trees were cut down”.