FILE PHOTO: A man rides a bicycle along a bike path on the Pont de Bir-Hakeim bridge near the Eiffel Tower in Paris during a nationwide day of strike and protests against the French government鈥檚 pension reform plan in France, January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
Paris, France 鈥斅燫emoving cars from an expanse around the Eiffel Tower to create a green pathway sounds pretty good on paper, but the mayor of Paris is struggling to win over residents and above all the police force to revamp one of the city鈥檚 most celebrated views.
Thousands of tourists jostle every day to snap the Eiffel Tower from across the River Seine on the hill at Trocadero, with its magnificent gardens and a modernist palace housing museums.
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Walking to Trocadero is less romantic, however, requiring the crossing of two major intersections and the often traffic-clogged Pont d鈥橧ena bridge.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo said to general surprise this week that she wants to push ahead with a project to kick out the cars and create a continuous garden between the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero esplanade.
But while she hopes to take advantage of the 2024 Summer Olympics to begin the project as soon as the Games end, her critics 鈥� and most importantly the Paris police chief 鈥� are resisting the plan.
The proposal is in keeping with other efforts by the Socialist mayor to squeeze cars out of Paris and make the city greener, a push that has divided residents and political opponents who say her policies go too far.
A trio of Japanese tourists taking photos next to the busy Pont d鈥橧ena bridge agreed that the plan would make a difference.
The view was 鈥渄isappointing鈥�, Mahiro told AFP, saying the vista would be 鈥渕ore beautiful with less cars鈥�.
鈥楶别诲别蝉迟谤颈补苍-蹿谤颈别苍诲濒测鈥櫬�
Hidalgo launched the project in 2019 but soon clashed with the city鈥檚 police chief at the time, Didier Lallement, and right-wing mayors of three of the city鈥檚 districts over concerns about traffic disruptions.
But Hidalgo, who announced a similar plan in January to ban cars on half of the central Place de la Concorde, site of the iconic Luxor Obelisk, is hoping the fervour of the Olympics will garner support for the ambitious project.
鈥淎fter the Olympic Games, there will no longer be cars passing in front of the Eiffel Tower,鈥� Hidalgo said in an interview with the Ouest-France newspaper published on Tuesday.
A 鈥済reen鈥� Trocadero, a 鈥減edestrian-friendly鈥� Iena bridge and a 鈥渞eforested鈥� Champ-de-Mars, the expansive lawn in the shadow of the Tower, 鈥渨ill all together form a large park in the heart of Paris鈥�, she said.
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Supporters have lauded the efforts by Hidalgo, a former presidential candidate, to reduce pollution and increase green areas in the densely populated city, which can become unbearable when increasingly frequent summer heatwaves hit.
During her first term in office, Hidalgo scored her biggest urbanisation win with the pedestrianisation of the embankment on the right bank of the Seine after a two-year battle.
But the Trocadero project was rejected by an administrative court in 2022 and 2023, and the mayor鈥檚 office acknowledged that the initial project was not destined to be implemented.
Hidalgo has submitted a 鈥渕odified鈥� plan to the police authorities, hoping the preparations ahead of the Olympics would provide a new window of opportunity.
鈥楳any questions鈥櫬�
France鈥檚 new right-wing Culture Minister Rachida Dati, an arch-foe of Hidalgo who says she will run for Paris mayor in 2026, branded the new plan a 鈥渃oup鈥�.
And Paris police chief Laurent Nunez maintained his administration鈥檚 opposition, saying 鈥渢here remain many questions鈥� on several points鈥�.
In May 2022, his predecessor Lallement said he feared 鈥渟ignificant traffic delays鈥� and 鈥渉old-ups鈥� that would slow down response times for emergency services.
Everton, a Brazilian photographer who has been living in France for 15 years, said he was worried about how Hidalgo鈥檚 plan would impact commuters in Paris.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to block the bridge and there are people who need to drive in Paris,鈥� he told AFP. 鈥淚 believe we need to do something, but it鈥檚 important not to go overboard.鈥�
Police authorities have said they are open to reviewing the new proposal promised by the mayor鈥檚 office.
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most popular monuments in the world, with 6.3 million tourists visiting last year.
Around 15 million visitors are expected for the Olympics in July and August, and the Paralympics in August and early September.