"We can't do just anything": Lyon Metropolis responds to landscaper who maintains "abandoned" green spaces

The controversy continues. Romain Gervais, a Lyon-based landscaper, recently published a video in which he films himself cleaning and clearing brush in "abandoned" green spaces in Lyon. The scene sparked a stir on social media, particularly among the Lyon right, who welcomed the initiative, while others criticized him for mowing in the middle of a heatwave. Others criticized him for mowing in the middle of a heatwave, including the vice-president in charge of biodiversity at the Lyon Metropolitan Area.

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Pierre Athanaze had indeed initially described the act as "bordering on criminal" before returning to his comments in more detail to our colleagues at BFM Lyon on Friday, August 22. "I explained that the management of green spaces is completely different now. Already, from a legal point of view, the Labbé law of 2014 prohibits cities from using pesticides, therefore weedkillers, as of January 1, 2017. And a new decree published in July 2022 is even more restrictive," he explains. He continues: "It's a completely different management. (...) Having grasses, flowers, which will grow, is an opportunity because it reduces the heat on the ground and because it allows biodiversity, bees, butterflies to live, to find something to eat and to reproduce." Alerting on the various heat waves which have affected the Lyon metropolitan area in recent years, Pierre Athanaze underlines the importance of these green spaces. "We may not care about bees and butterflies, except that it's simply essential."

In a second video, Romain Gervais cuts a hedge "left abandoned" in the 9th arrondissement. "It's not abandoned. It has an owner. You have to know that you're not allowed to trim hedges between March 15 and August 15. It's regulated, because there are species that nest inside. You can't do just anything," says the vice-president. He adds: "He works on land that belongs to the City, to social landlords, to condominiums. The hedge, I don't know who it belonged to, but it certainly belonged to a private individual. You still have to be very careful about what you do."

And as for the argument of the landscaper's "citizen approach" , Pierre Athanaze judges that "if people now go to other people's homes, in the public domain, in the private domain, to do as they think is right, it's a bit of a shame." He concludes: "We are still in a place where we can discuss."

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