A crowd has gathered on a cloudy day in Paris to witness what is happening at the Canal Saint-Martin. Everybody else just cannot take their gaze away from the action in front of them. As the officials drained the river, they all were looking forward to seeing how the shallow waters fade and what had been lurking all along in the canal’s waters.
They found things about the canal that they had not foreseen. After two centuries, what did they find down there exactly?
As the murky waters receded, the officials assessed them. It’s not very often that the unanswered questions of the ocean’s deepest parts are unearthed. The canal is 4.5 km in length. After Napoleon Bonaparte authorized the project, it was completed. This canal was built mainly to provide safe drinking water to the 550,000 people who lived in Paris. Even so, he was well aware that the population would almost certainly increase in the near future. He also dared to hope that having safe drinking water would aid the city’s health problems.
The Canal Saint-Martin runs for nearly three miles through the city. At the time, it also delivered food and construction materials to Parisians all around the city. Two canals were built for much the same motive in the following decades. The officials were building the Canal Saint-Denis and the Canal de l’Ourcq. The latter measured 3.4 meters in width and 108 kilometers in length. It ran from Port aux Perches to the Bassin de la Villette, connecting the Canal Saint-Martin and the Bassin de la Villette.
It’s important to remember that all of them are hundreds of years old. The Canal Saint-Martin is the most well-known of the three. From the Bassin de l’Arsenal to the Place de la République, it ran deep underground. Numerous people are familiar with the latter due to pivotal events during the French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799. An unanticipated prison attack occurred here. It has a long and fruitful past.
For this specific reason, people were interested in knowing what lay beneath the ground. Both locals and tourists now see the canal as a popular tourist destination. Young Parisians often congregate along the banks of the Seine and in neighboring cafés.
So, why did the authorities begin draining the water? The canal has undergone many changes in its two centuries of existence. Every 10 to 15 years, officials try to empty it, clearing out everything that has built up at the bottom. That being said, this was not just a regular cleanup. So what was it about this period of time that was so distinctive?
Paris hides a slew of important secrets, and the deep waters of this canal obscured some of them. What lay just below their adored Canal Saint-Martin caught the interest of Parisians from afar. The draining operation was being observed. If they watched, what would they find out?
The canal had last been drained in 2001. At that time, they had been able to eliminate over 40 tons of waste from the water. Among the fascinating finds were bullets, bombshells, and gold coins from World War I. Furthermore, they discovered a car from the same era. It had been a long time since that happened. What else could they come across in the water?
The massive challenge of draining the canal got underway. It would take three months to remove approximately three million cubic feet of water. Even though the city had to spend more than $10 million on the project, it was necessary. What had been concealed in the canal for so long piqued the audience’s interest?
On January 7th, they emptied the canal’s excess water. The secrets of the waterway were finally revealed after 15 years. People from all walks of life flocked to the bridges, eager to see what the officials had discovered. Everyone was dying of curiosity. It had to be a huge occasion. After all, it’s not very often that the Canal Saint-Martin is completely dry.
When people saw what was going on, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The canal’s bottom was strange to see. They were all interested in learning more about what was beneath the canal’s surface.
The workers were given the task of emptying the canal to a depth of 50 cm. They waded through the canal, looking for objects and living things that had made their home there. The working crew caught around five tons of carp, trout, and bream. The fish were then relocated to more suitable breeding grounds. They carefully weighed and identified the fish before relocating them. Even if the new location wasn’t ideal, it was still preferable to the alternative.
Several everyday objects found their way into the water’s depths. Among them were bicycles, later discovered to be part of the city’s Vélib’ bike-sharing system from 2007. The program had added about 14,500 bicycles to the city’s streets. Regrettably, many had ended up in unusual circumstances.
More items started to emerge as the draining process progressed. At the canal’s bottom, there were mopeds, bicycles, and wheelie bins. There was even a toilet down there! Because it had undoubtedly contributed to the canal’s murkiness, its removal was crucial to the recovery process.
This was far from the only surprise. Larger objects were also discovered.
“It’s like some weird submarine treasure,” a witness named Mark told The Guardian. “I can’t believe the number of Vélibs there,” he continued. “I’m guessing they were stolen and then thrown in. It’s strange.”
Bicycles were far from the only unusual items. Wait until you hear what else they found: a pair of motorcycles. If bicycles were shocking, how did motorcycles end up there? We’re hoping for a witness to come forward and tell us what actually occurred.
Things only got weirder from there. Of course, they didn’t find only living creatures and bizarre objects. Some more predictable items were also recovered—shopping bags, traffic cones, and glass bottles, to name a few. These findings, however, didn’t seem to pique anyone’s interest as much as the stranger ones.
One of the most unusual discoveries was an office chair. No one knew how it had ended up there. As they continued to drain the water, another interesting item emerged: a revolting suitcase. Had it been tossed in? On the canal floor, they also found a shopping cart. This find piqued people’s curiosity. Had a shopper accidentally pushed their cart into the canal?
Workers continued to drain the water from the Canal Saint-Martin until only 20 inches remained. Their priority was to get the fish to safety first. For three days, the cleanup crew fished for carp, trout, and bream. The creatures were carefully relocated.
Despite the saddening amount of waste in the canal, there was reason to be hopeful. The findings shed light on the city’s littering problem. Authorities took the opportunity to address the issue.
“If everyone mucks in and avoids throwing anything into the water,” Celia Blou told Mail Online, “we might be able to swim in the canal in a few years.”
Nobody would have realized how serious the situation was if the waterway had not been drained.
In fact, the canal area is considered prime real estate. Parisians paid a high price for it. Real estate near the 10th arrondissement commands prices of up to $99,000 per square foot. They had no idea these things were so close to their homes.
The canal’s periodic cleanings offer a fascinating glimpse into Parisian history and life, making it a spectacle that continues to intrigue both locals and visitors.
