Paris-Plages ("Paris Beaches"; until 2006 Paris-Plage in the singular) is a plan run by the office of the mayor of Paris that creates temporary artificial beaches each summer along the river Seine in the centre of Paris, and, since 2007, along the Bassin de la Villette in the northeast of Paris. Every July and August, roadways on the banks of the Seine are closed off and host various activities, including sandy beaches and palm trees.
French city-dwellers traditionally escape to the seaside or the countryside during the summer, especially in August. Paris is avoided, as the weather is unpleasantly hot and humid, and the centre has many tourists. Nevertheless, each summer many residents are obliged to remain in the city, however reluctantly. The Paris-Plages scheme was instigated in 2002 by Bertrand Delanoë, the newly elected Socialist Party mayor, as a haven for relieving the misery of those cooped up in the sweltering city.
Initially there was a single beach on the Rive Droite. In 2006, a second beach was added on the Rive Gauche, and the scheme's name changed from singular to plural. [1] Unlike many beaches in France, topless sunbathing is not permitted. Swimming in the Seine is also not permitted, for safety reasons. [2]
The scheme has proven a major success; the number of visitors has grown each year and topped four million in 2007. Every season, new features are added. [2] These include a shuttle ferry linking the two riverbanks, a floating swimming pool, and another beach area at La Villette, in the northeast corner of the city.
The beaches were built free of charge by LafargeHolcim from 2002 to 2017, when the city of Paris discontinued their contract in retaliation for LafargeHolcim's proposal to build the wall on the Mexico–United States border promised by U.S. President Donald Trump. [3]
The name "Paris-Plage" was trademarked in 2002. In August 2006, the mayor's office sued the commune of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage for impinging on the trademark by using the phrase "Paris-Plage" in its tourism marketing. This was greeted with scepticism, since the commune's name dated from 1912, based on earlier popular usage. The case was dropped in 2008. [4] [5]
The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long (483 mi) river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre. It is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the sea. Over 60 percent of its length, as far as Burgundy, is negotiable by large barges and most tour boats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating; excursion boats offer sightseeing tours of the river banks in the capital city, Paris.
Aubervilliers is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France.
Villette or Villettes may refer to:
La Roche-Guyon is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the Vexin regional nature park.
An urban beach is an artificially-created environment in an urban setting which simulates a public beachfront, through the use of sand, beach umbrellas, and seating elements. Urban beaches are designed to surprise and delight city residents, workers, and visitors by inserting a beach atmosphere into an urban area that would otherwise be a typical cityscape.
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a permanent population of 4,213 (2021), but it welcomes up to 250,000 people during the summer, so the population at any given time during high season in summer swells to about 30,000. Located on the Opal Coast of the English Channel at the estuary of the river Canche, the commune is one of the most renowned seaside resorts in France, with a wide range of sports and leisure activities.
Le Pecq is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, 18.4 km (11.4 mi) from the center of Paris.
Cucq is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Neufchâtel-Hardelot is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
The canton of Montreuil is a former canton in the Pas-de-Calais department and the Nord-Pas de Calais region. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation that came into effect in March 2015. It had a total of 22,203 inhabitants (2012).
Locquirec is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
Berneval-le-Grand is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Petit-Caux.
Royale-les-Eaux is a fictional town in northern France. It features in the James Bond novels of Ian Fleming and others, particularly Casino Royale (1953) and On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963).
John Robinson Whitley, was a British entrepreneur who inaugurated the Earl's Court Exhibition Grounds in West London in 1887. After four major exhibitions on the site (1887–1892), he moved to France where in partnership with Allen Stoneham, he developed Touquet-Paris-Plage and created Hardelot-Plage. He was a brother-in-law of pioneering French Cinematographer, Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince and grandfather of Air marshal Sir John Whitley.
The Canal Saint-Denis is a canal in Paris, France that is 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi) in length. The canal connects the Canal de l'Ourcq, at a point north-northwest of the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement, with the suburban municipalities of Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis. There are seven locks along the canal's route, and, near Saint-Denis, the canal discharges into the Seine.
The Bassin de la Villette is the largest artificial lake in Paris. It was filled with water on 2 December 1808. Located in the 19th arrondissement of the capital, it links the Canal de l'Ourcq to the Canal Saint-Martin, and it represents one of the elements of the Réseau des Canaux Parisiens, a public-works authority operated by the city. The other components of the network are the Canal de l'Ourcq, the Canal Saint-Denis, the Canal Saint-Martin, and the Bassin de l'Arsenal. Together, these canals and basins extend roughly 130 kilometres (81 mi).
Alain Godon is a French painter and sculptor.
Bruno Lafont is a French businessman. He served as the chief executive officer of Lafarge from 2006 to 2015, when it merged with Holcim to become LafargeHolcim. He served as the co-chairman of LafargeHolcim from 2015 to April 2017.
Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in cement, construction aggregates, and concrete. It is the world's largest cement manufacturer. It was founded in 1833 by Joseph-Auguste Pavin de Lafarge and is a part of the Holcim Group.
The Holcim Group, legally known as Holcim Limited, is a Swiss multinational company that manufactures building materials. It has a presence in around 60 countries, and employs around 60,000 employees. Holcim operates four businesses segments: cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, and other products, including precast concrete, asphalt, mortar, and other building materials.
Media related to Paris Plages at Wikimedia Commons
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