Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The garden of tropical agronomy René-Dumont, located east of Vincennes wood in Paris, occupies the site of the former colonial trial garden created at the end of the 19th century. Its initial objective was to improve the agricultural production of French colonies (coffee, bananas, rubber) by shipping seeds and cuttings overseas. Between 1899 and 1907, it hosted greenhouses and pavilions from universal exhibitions, such as the Reunion stand or the Dahomey greenhouse, transforming the site into a place of experimentation and colonial demonstration.

In 1907, the garden houses a colonial exhibition organized by the Société française de colonisation, reconstructing six villages (Indochina, Congo, Madagascar, etc.) with their inhabitants recruited as extras. This show, later called a human zoo, attracts between one and two million visitors. The pavilions still visible today (Indochina, Tunisia, Morocco) date back to this period, although some, such as the Congo Pavilion, were destroyed by fires (2004).

During the First World War, the site became a hospital for colonial troops, with the inauguration in 1916 of the first mosque in metropolitan France, then replaced by the great mosque in Paris. After the war, the garden merged with an agricultural school to form the Institute of Colonial Agronomy (1921), and then hosted institutions such as CIRAD (tropical agronomic research). Ranked in 1960, the site became obsolete during decolonizations, before being restored and reopened to the public in 2006 under its current name.

Today, the garden combines colonial heritage (pavillons, monuments to the deaths of overseas soldiers), scientific research (CIRAD, laboratories) and sustainable development. The greenhouses, the Indochinese pagoda (rebuilt in 1992) and the pavilion of Tunisia (renovated in 2020) bear witness to its complex history, between colonial exploitation and ecological conversion. The vegetation, now mostly local, contrasts with the few remaining tropical species (bamboos, latex trees).

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