COUNTRY: FRANCE

ORGANIZATION: Solution : Solidarité & Inclusion

DATE OF THE DEBATE: 1st May 2022

LOCATION OF THE DEBATE: Montreuil

LINK TO THE MONITORED PROJECT ON THE NATIONAL OPEN DATA PLATFORM: HERE

EVENT’S DESCRIPTION:

The debate 5 organized by Solution took place during the week of the 25/04 – 01/05. This debate was organized as a field study visit on the site that the French team is monitoring. 10 people between 30 and 65+ years old joined the visit. Among them, 9 are between 30 and 65 years old and one of them is above 65 years old.

In the previous meetings, Solution had been organizing this visit and the meeting with one of the responsible persons of Mur à pêches gardens, which is the site that has been renewed through the ERDF. So, at the end of April, the French group visited the project venue, the Mur à pêches in Montreuil, near Paris.

The group met one of the persons responsible for taking care of the gardens of Mur à pêches and in particular, of the Jardin Patrick Fontaine, one of the gardens of this historical site. The interviewers asked the responsible of the garden why the Mur à pêches is so special and why it is important to preserve it. He answered that these gardens are the result of a rare know-how of construction and arboriculture from the 17th century to acclimatize the peaches to the Ile-de-France climate. The group was also informed that the European funds for the Mur à pêches supported the restoration works conducted by Les Pierres de Montreuil association, which also involved job-seekers, first by training them and then involving them in the works. The interviewee also added that thanks to this fund, as well as to those allocated by the Municipality of Montreuil, it has been possible to open and reactivate routes that had been lost during the degradation of the neighborhood and to give the neighbor’s residents access to biodiversity and green spaces.

The monitoring group also interviewed a resident of the Saint-Antoine neighbor, where the site is located. She was asked to tell what she knows about the Mur à pêches and how she lives on this site. She seemed to be very well informed about it, as she goes there with her child every weekend to enjoy a “precious green space” in the city. The interview has been recorded for reporting purposes. As an additional proof of the benefits of this green renewed space for the residents, during this visit, a hip-hop festival was taking place in one of the fields of the Mur à pêches. Many young people from Parisian suburbs were attending the event.