Usually in May, Bertrand Dehelly spends his Sundays in the forest. “The forest has put on its spring foliage and the birds are singing loudly. It’s very frustrating not being able to walk around “, deplores the president of the association Les amis de la forêt de Fontainebleau.
The forest has been prohibited from access since a prefectural decree of March 19 and the same will apply from May 11. Because the Fontainebleau forest massif is located in a department in the red zone. Tuesday at the National Assembly, Edouard Philippe indicated that the parks and gardens “will only be able to open in departments where the virus is not actively circulating“.
An announcement that the mayors of Fontainebleau and Saint-Germain-en-Laye would like to see relaxed. Arnaud Péricard, the DVD mayor of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) and Frédéric Valletoux, his counterpart (LR) of Fontainebleau (Seine- et-Marne) wrote a letter to the prefect of police Didier Lallement requesting the reopening of their forest areas. “We have 60,000 inhabitants who live at the edge of the Fontainebleau forest, it is a heartbreak for these inhabitants to be prohibited from walking even a few minutes in the forest while it is at the end of the street“, assures Frédéric Valletoux.
1.5 times the size of Paris
For the mayor and associations of Fontainebleau, the size of this forest – 22,000 hectares and 1,100 km of paths – allows walkers to explore it individually without forming groups and respecting the necessary distancing measures. “Today for sports, I see people in my city running in the streets when the forest is much larger. It should be remembered that its area is one and a half times the area of the city of Paris“, remarks the mayor of Fontainebleau.
In Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the forest, smaller than that of Fontainebleau, still has an area of 3,550 hectares. The association Ensemble pour l’Environnement de Saint-Germain en Laye and its region is also calling for its reopening. “The government should trust elected officials on the ground who are the most able to consult and see how to reopen these large spaces, whether in the red zone or in the green zone “, says Monique Dumont, the president of the association.
Many Ile-de-France residents will want to get some fresh air and whatever happens, they will want to go to the forests.
The mayor of Fontainebleau, for his part, believes that the authorization to travel within a radius of 100km must necessarily be accompanied by relaxation. “Many Ile-de-France residents will want to get some fresh air and whatever happens, they will want to go to the forests. And, one enters it by hundreds of way, of roads, it is a solid mass which one cannot keep, as much to lift the prohibition. “, he concludes.
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