The city of Paris is seeking legal personhood for the Seine river. If the resolution is passed in parliament, it would mean that the waterway and its ecosystem would be granted the right to exist and thereby have a better chance of being defended in court. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the status is necessary because the river will always be under attack.
French authorities want to give legal rights to the RiverSeineto better defend the world-famous waterway in court and protect its fragile ecosystem, part of a global movement to grant legal personhood tonature.
In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, theParisCity Council called on parliament to pass a law granting the Seine legal personhood to enable "an independent guardian authority to defend its rights in court".
"The Seine must be able to defend itself, as a subject of law and not as an object, because it will always be under attack," Paris MayorAnne Hidalgosaid.
Conservationists have backed granting fragile ecosystems such as rivers and mountains basic legal rights to better protect them.
In a world first, New Zealand in 2017recognised the Whanganui Riverrevered by Indigenous people as a living entity, with legislation combining Western legal precedent and Maori beliefs.
In 2022, Spain grantedpersonhood status to the Mar Menor, one of Europe's largest saltwater lagoons, to give its threatened ecosystem better protection.
The Paris Council based its decision on the conclusions of a citizens' convention on the future of the Seine held between March and May.
Fifty citizens chosen at random proposed granting the Seine fundamental rights such as "the right to exist, to flow and to regenerate".
Helped by Olympics
The Seine must be considered an ecosystem that "no one can claim ownership of", where the preservation of life must "take precedence over everything", the convention concluded.
It also noted "positive" change, with the Seine now home to around 40 species of fish, compared to only four in 1970.
Read moreThe Bright Side: Swimming in the Seine to become reality for Parisians
French authorities spent $1.5 billion ahead of the2024 Olympicsto clean up the Seine, the 777-kilometre (482-mile) river that flows through Paris past theLouvre,Notre-Dame Cathedraland other iconic landmarks.
However, it is threatened bypollution, rising water temperatures and the use ofpesticidesin agriculture.
The opening of the river to the public for swimming this summer could present "additional risks", warned the convention.
Fulfilling a key legacy promise from the Paris Games, authorities are to allow the public to swim from July 5 at three points in the Seine, which is now deemed safe for a dip.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
