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Key figures

Origin and history

The canal Saint-Martin, 4.55 km long, was designed at the beginning of the 19th century to meet the growing needs of drinking water in Paris, then confronted with epidemics linked to the pollution of the Seine and Bièvre. The project, initiated under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, was relaunched by Louis XVIII and entrusted to the engineer Pierre-Simon Girard. The construction, financed by private capital via the Compagnie des Canaux de Paris, began in 1822 and ended in 1825 under Charles X. The canal became a vital axis for the transport of goods and water, integrating a network of 130 km with the canals of Ourcq and Saint-Denis.

In the mid-19th century, Prefect Haussmann integrated the canal into his Paris modernization projects. Between 1860 and 1862, part of the canal was covered by vaults (such as those on Richard-Lenoir Boulevard or Bastille Square) to facilitate land and military traffic. The level of the canal was lowered by 5.5 m to allow navigation under these vaults, while lift plants were built to maintain its flow. The canal experienced its golden age until the 1960s, before declining in the face of road and rail competition.

Ranked a historic monument in 1993, the Canal Saint-Martin is now an emblematic place for walking and leisure, with its pedestrian banks, tourist cruises and picturesque basins such as the Villette or the Recollets. He also inspired many artistic works, from the film Hôtel du Nord (1938) to the songs of Mano Solo or Edith Piaf. Despite challenges such as gentrification of the surrounding neighbourhoods or regular maintenance of its locks, it remains a symbol of the industrial and social heritage of Paris.

The canal crosses the 10th and 11th arrondissements, with remarkable points such as pedestrian walkways (ex-Bichat gateway, renamed Michèle-Morgan) or the oculi of ventilation of vaults. Its layout also includes historic basins (morts basin, Louis Blanc basin) and double locks, demonstrating its complex engineering. In 2016, significant clean-up and draining work helped to preserve its condition, while revealing a specific fauna and flora, such as the ash heron or the lizard of the walls.

Since the 2000s, the canal has also become a place of social memory, welcoming refugees and migrants awaiting regularization, while being a dynamic cultural space. Its role in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games of 2024 confirms its status as a Parisian icon, between industrial history, architectural heritage and contemporary life.

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