Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

André-Citroën Park is an urban green space of 14 hectares, created on the site of the former Citroën factory in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Inaugurated in 1992 after work started in 1986, it includes housing and tertiary buildings on the periphery. Its landscaping, marked by a gentle slope towards the Seine, includes Mediterranean and exotic greenhouses, a bamboo grove, and an artificial island. An extension of 10,100 m2, opened in 2014 near Georges Pompidou Hospital, added spaces dedicated to children and adolescents.

The park pays tribute to French military figures: in 2015, the white and black gardens were renamed Caroline Aigle and Eugénie-Malika Djendi. In 2019, a memorial to the dead for external operations (OPEX) was installed in the Eugénie-Djendi garden. Its design, signed by landscape designers Gilles Clément and Allain Provost as well as architects Patrick Berger, Jean-François Jodry and Jean-Paul Viguier, is distinguished by a diagonal of 800 m across water, lawns and stairs.

Among its attractions, a captive balloon (Ballon Generali) peaks at 150 m, offering a panoramic view of Paris with 30 passengers, with an illumination reflecting the quality of the air. The park also houses thematic serial gardens (planets, colours, weekdays) and a decorative sundial in the golden garden. However, its maintenance suffered from degradation due to higher attendance than expected and high costs, resulting in partial closures (locks, basins) reported in 2013.

Renovation works were launched in 2009 and 2015, with a budget of €3.7 million in 2015, but delays persisted, notably for the Grand Canal and the 18 serial fountains. The park remains an emblematic place in the 15th arrondissement, served by metro lines 8 and 10, the RER C and the T3a tramway, and symbolizes the industrial conversion into a space of relaxation and memory.

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