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Paris-Plages ("Paris Beaches"; until 2006Paris-Plage in the singular) is a plan run by the office of themayor of Paris that creates temporaryartificial beaches each summer along the riverSeine in the centre ofParis, and, since 2007, along theBassin 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 byBertrand Delanoë, the newly electedSocialist Party mayor, as a haven for relieving the misery of those cooped up in the sweltering city.
Initially there was a single beach on theRive Droite. In 2006, a second beach was added on theRive 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 shuttleferry linking the two riverbanks, a floatingswimming pool, and another beach area atLa Villette, in the northeast corner of the city.
The beaches were built free of charge byLafargeHolcim from 2002 to 2017, when the city of Paris discontinued their contract in retaliation for LafargeHolcim's proposal tobuild the wall on theMexico–United States border promised by U.S. PresidentDonald Trump.[3]
The name "Paris-Plage" wastrademarked in 2002. In August 2006, the mayor's office sued thecommune ofLe 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]
Media related toParis Plages at Wikimedia Commons
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