Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The zoological park in Paris, originally called the Bois de Vincennes zoological park, was designed in 1934 under the leadership of geologist Paul Lemoine, then director of the National Museum of Natural History. Inaugurated on 2 June 1934 by President Albert Lebrun, he was inspired by the Hamburg Zoo, favoring natural enclosures without cages, with an artificial Grand Rock of 65 m high, become his symbol. This project met an ancient will: as early as 1860, Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire proposed an annex to the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes to study animal behaviour.

The 1931 colonial exhibition had hosted a temporary zoo in Vincennes, attracting more than 5 million visitors in six months. This success led to the continuation of the installation on a nearby site, entrusted to the Museum after the transfer of wood by the Crown to the City of Paris in 1860. The park was run by figures such as Achille Urbain (1934-1946) and Jacques Nouvel (1946-1976), and was distinguished by rare births, such as those of Asian elephants or giant pandas offered by China in 1973.

Starting in the 1980s, the zoo suffered from the deterioration of its infrastructure, designed for 50 years. The Grand Rocher, closed for security reasons, was renovated urgently in 1993, but the number of visitors fell (300,000 in 2005 compared to 1.5 million in 1968). In the face of the crisis, a public-private partnership (167 million euros, of which 157 million were financed by Bouygues and the Savings Bank) allowed a complete renovation between 2008 and 2014. The park reopened with five biozones (Sahel, Madagascar, Amazonia-Guyane, Patagonia, Europe) and a modern approach to ex situ conservation.

The reopening in 2014 was marked by challenges: lower attendance than expected (911,000 visitors in 2015 compared to 1.7 million expected), criticized by the Court of Auditors for its unbalanced economic model. The prices, increased from €6 to €22, were considered too high, despite a decrease in 2018. The zoo specializes in the reproduction of endangered species (56 European programmes in 2019), such as the Lemurians of Madagascar or the Lamantines of Guadeloupe, while renouncing iconic animals (elephants, tigers) to favour their well-being.

Today, the park houses 3,419 animals of 275 species (end 2024) and remains a key player in biodiversity research and awareness. Its architecture, signed Bernard Tschumi, includes 4,000 m2 of tropical greenhouse and landscape developments increasing vegetated areas by 40%. Despite continuing financial difficulties, he retained a major scientific and educational role, supported by associations such as SECAS, founded in 1938 by Achille Urbain.

Culturally, the Vincennes Zoo was used as a setting for films such as La Grande Vadrouille (1966) or Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010). It is accessible by metro line 8 (Porte Doré station) and remains an emblematic place of Parisian heritage, combining history, science and conservation.

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