"It feels so good!" We breathe a little. Especially when you've been confined to a small apartment. "Like Catherine, 60, and Martine, 70, residents of Bagneux crossed on a bench in Montsouris Park (XIV) this Saturday, masks on their faces, Parisians and Ile-de-France residents stormed the parks and gardens.
Closed for two and a half months, 490 green spaces in the capital have finally been able to reopen. An announcement made Thursday by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and a "release" for the mayor (PS) of Paris Anne Hidalgo, who demanded their reopening since the start of deconfinement on May 11.
From 7 a.m., even before the first rays of sunshine appeared, walkers and joggers were already waiting behind the gates of the Monceau (8th) and Buttes-Chaumont (19th) parks, the first to be "deconfined".
At Parc Montsouris (14th century), you also had to get up early to find a place on the benches facing the lake or in the aisles, after a short visit by the stands for the distribution of hydroalcoholic gel installed at each entrance. In the middle of the afternoon, the large expanses of grass were also crowded with small groups, which were however quite distant from each other out of respect for distancing. Even in the most popular shade areas.
"We did not find an excess"
“The safety rules are generally respected. It's easier in the big parks, even if I haven't had any problems with the small ones. There was no excess. It is a rather successful test day. It was a great challenge because we learned it late, ”says Michel Felkay, director of the DPSP (Department of Prevention, Security and Protection of Paris).
Throughout the day, the reception and surveillance agents, mediators and security inspectors from the City of Paris conducted mediation operations in the parks to remind them of the safety instructions. “Stay within 1 meter, avoid groups of more than 10 people and recommend wearing a mask, explains Michel Felkay. We are not in a logic of verbalization and sanction, but of persuasion and taking responsibility of people. "
"It was essential, otherwise, people would have ended up farting a cable"
The mask is not necessarily the norm this Saturday. Jean-Luc does not hesitate to stop strollers or strollers to ask them to put on their masks. "I explain to them that it is not compulsory, but they comply if they have one," explains the BIP (Brigade d'Intervention de Paris) agent. We especially ask in the aisles where there is more proximity. Lisa, 29, happily took hers out of her bag. "It's good that the agents inform people, even if they are careful," notes the Parisian. I experienced confinement in the countryside, and it feels good to find it in Paris. It was essential to reopen the parks. Otherwise, people would end up farting a cable (sic) . "
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"There are no large groups or waste on the ground, it's that people listen," says Hélène, crew partner of Jean-Luc. "They've been waiting for this for so long, they don't want us to close the parks," he continues. It's a breath of fresh air. Then it prevents people from clustering in one place, as we saw on the Canal Saint-Martin on the first day of the deconfinement. "We didn't want to miss the first day, we missed it," confirms this group of five Parisians, in their twenties, not masked but seated three feet from each other.
"Picnicking is allowed, but please respect the distances! Thank you and good day ! Mourad still had to play the megaphone several times. "I used it to disperse groups of over ten people who were having a picnic," said the DPSP agent. There were a few, but people listen and move away. We were even applauded. "
VIDEO. Reopening of parks in Paris: "We are celebrating our first picnic of the year"
