Canal Saint-Martin
Encyclopedia
Canal Saint-Martin is a 4.5 km long canal
in Paris
. It connects the Canal de l'Ourcq
to the river Seine
.
in 1802, in order to create an artificial waterway for supplying Paris with fresh water to support a growing population and to help avoid diseases such as dysentery
and cholera
.
Gaspard de Chabrol
, prefect of Paris, proposed to build a canal from the river Ourcq
(starting 100 km northeast of Paris). The canal was dug from 1802 to 1825, funded by a new tax on wine. The canal was also used to supply Paris with food (grain), building materials, and other goods, carried on canal boats. Two ports were created in Paris on the canal to unload boats: Port de l'Arsenal and Bassin de la Villette
.
By the 1960s, traffic had dwindled to a trickle and the canal narrowly escaped being filled in and paved over for a highway. Today, the canal is covered from Rue du Faubourg du Temple to the Place de la Bastille
.
In late December 2006, 350 tents were put on the Canal Saint-Martin by the NGO
Les Enfants de Don Quichotte, in support of the "right to lodging" (Droit au logement). The NGO invited well-lodged people to sleep a night in the tent, alongside homeless people
. The NGO Médecins du monde
(MDM) had taken the initiative, in 2005, to give tents to all homeless people in Paris, in order to provide them with minimal privacy and to make misery visible. But the prefecture of police
, under orders of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
, was progressively expelling homeless people camping in Paris. Thus, the Enfants de Don Quichotte's action attracted attention to this expulsion. In the context of the 2007 presidential election
, Jacques Chirac
announced that the "opposable right to lodging" would be enacted into law before the end of his term.
The canal inspired painters such as Alfred Sisley
.
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It connects the Canal de l'Ourcq
Canal de l'Ourcq
The Canal de l'Ourcq is a 108.1 km long canal of the Paris Basin with 10 locks. It was built at a width of 3.2 m but was enlarged to 3.7 m , which permitted use by more pleasure boats...
to the river Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near 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...
.
Geography
The entrance of the canal is a double lock near Place de Stalingrad. Then, towards the river Seine, the canal is bordered by the quai de Valmy on one side and the quai de Jemmapes on the other. The canal continues to the Seine via the Port de l'Arsenal.History
Construction of the canal was ordered by Napoleon INapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1802, in order to create an artificial waterway for supplying Paris with fresh water to support a growing population and to help avoid diseases such as dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
and cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
.
Gaspard de Chabrol
Gaspard de Chabrol
Comte Gilbert Joseph Gaspard de Chabrol de Volvic was a French official. Graduating from an École Polytechnique in 1794, he was named prefect of the Seine by Napoleon in 1812, an office he held until 1833...
, prefect of Paris, proposed to build a canal from the river Ourcq
Ourcq
The Ourcq is a 87 km long river in France, right tributary of the Marne. Its source is near the village Ronchères. Its course crosses the departments of Aisne, Oise and Seine-et-Marne. It flows southwest through the towns of Fère-en-Tardenois, La Ferté-Milon, Mareuil-sur-Ourcq and Crouy-sur-Ourcq,...
(starting 100 km northeast of Paris). The canal was dug from 1802 to 1825, funded by a new tax on wine. The canal was also used to supply Paris with food (grain), building materials, and other goods, carried on canal boats. Two ports were created in Paris on the canal to unload boats: Port de l'Arsenal and Bassin de la Villette
Bassin de la Villette
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...
.
By the 1960s, traffic had dwindled to a trickle and the canal narrowly escaped being filled in and paved over for a highway. Today, the canal is covered from Rue du Faubourg du Temple to the Place de la Bastille
Place de la Bastille
The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris, where the Bastille prison stood until the 'Storming of the Bastille' and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution; no vestige of it remains....
.
In late December 2006, 350 tents were put on the Canal Saint-Martin by the NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
Les Enfants de Don Quichotte, in support of the "right to lodging" (Droit au logement). The NGO invited well-lodged people to sleep a night in the tent, alongside homeless people
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
. The NGO Médecins du monde
Médecins du Monde
Médecins du Monde or Doctors of the World, is a non-governmental humanitarian aid organisation created in March 1980 by 15 French doctors, including Bernard Kouchner after he had left Médecins Sans Frontières , the aid society which he had co-founded earlier in 1971...
(MDM) had taken the initiative, in 2005, to give tents to all homeless people in Paris, in order to provide them with minimal privacy and to make misery visible. But the prefecture of police
Prefecture of Police
The Prefecture of Police , headed by the Prefect of Police , is an agency of the Government of France which provides the police force for the city of Paris and the surrounding three suburban départements of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne...
, under orders of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
, was progressively expelling homeless people camping in Paris. Thus, the Enfants de Don Quichotte's action attracted attention to this expulsion. In the context of the 2007 presidential election
French presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
, Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
announced that the "opposable right to lodging" would be enacted into law before the end of his term.
Tourism
Today, the canal is a popular destination for Parisians and tourists who watch the barges navigate the series of locks and road bridges. There are also a number of popular restaurants and bars along it. The area is popular with students.Art
Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life, in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air...
.
Appearances in film and television
- The canal is shown in the 1938 film Hôtel du NordHôtel du NordHôtel du Nord is a 1938 French drama film directed by Marcel Carné and starring Annabella.- Cast :* Annabella - Renée* Jean-Pierre Aumont - Pierre* Louis Jouvet - Monsieur Edmond* Arletty - Raymonde* Paulette Dubost - Ginette* Andrex - Kenel...
, directed by Marcel CarnéMarcel Carné-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
. - The canal appears in the 2001 film AmélieAmélieAmélie is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre...
by Jean-Pierre JeunetJean-Pierre Jeunet-Life and career:Jean-Pierre Jeunet was born in Roanne, Loire, France. He bought his first camera at the age of 17 and made short films while studying animation at Cinémation Studios. He befriended Marc Caro, a designer and comic book artist who became his longtime collaborator and...
, in which the title character enjoys skipping stones at the locks of the canal. - The canal was also the setting in part for Jean Vigo's film L'Atalante in 1934.
- In Les Malheurs d'Alfred (1972), Pierre Richard and Anny Duperey meet each other at the beginning of the film, thinking of committing suicide in the canal.
Music
- Édith PiafÉdith PiafÉdith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
sings about the canal in the song "Les mômes de la cloche", written by Vincent Scotto and Decaye, music by Médinger, in 1936.