A large scar now scars the forest of the Bastille, famous fortified complex of Grenoble (Isère), built in the nineteenth century on a mountain overlooking the city. Two hectares of vegetation have been razed there, leaving only wood chips on the ground and a few scattered trees. "It's ugly," says Theo, 8, who walks below on the banks of the Isère with his mother. "There was a beautiful forest, very green in the spring," she says. Now part of it has been cut, it's visible from all the streets of the city."
"This is carnage for biodiversity"
On these plots belonging to the State, this severe brushing must prevent the risk of fire. But it did not take long to arouse the wrath of environmental associations. "It's a carnage for biodiversity," says Julien Perrier, administrator of France Nature Environnement in Isère. We recently talked about the decline of birds, and now their habitat is being directly destroyed in the middle of the breeding season. About sixty species are present at the Bastille, some of which are almost threatened, such as the swift pouillot. »
The same indignation at the green municipality of Grenoble: "We flout this natural space which is one of the symbols of the city. This clearing is too extreme. Without the roots, we risk landslides, "says Gilles Namur, assistant to nature in the city, who meanwhile deploys goats on other areas of the Bastille to precisely clear brush in a gentler way.
"This clearing was expressly requested by Mayor Éric Piolle last August, in the context of a fire at the gates of the city, in Voreppe. And it is a legal obligation," insists Jean-Luc Jacquet, regional head of the State's real estate policy. "We asked for a specialized company that operates in the Mediterranean regions and is therefore used to doing this work." Cost of the operation: 250,000 euros.
Faced with the bronca of associations and the town hall, brush clearing has been suspended since early May. Consultations will take place before a resumption in the autumn on another 2.5 ha.