Under the paving stones the lead, on the paving stones the asphalt

In October 2020, samples of acid-soluble lead exceeded 100,000 and 200,000 micrograms per square metre of paving.

In April 2022, samples averaged 2,000 microgrammes per square metre, according to information given orally by the ARS at the last meeting of the Paris City Hall Lead Plan Steering Committee on 27 June 2022.

The promenade is a reservoir of lead post-fire dust and consolidation work have accumulated over time in the joints, interstices and crevices of the paving stones. The 5,000 or so cobblestones will be covered with a layer of asphalt (clear, we were told).

The 4th arrondissement town hall wants the promenade to be officially reopened to the public in July or early August at the latest.

At present, it is a night-time meeting place where empty bottles and the bags of robbed tourists pile up.

© Robin des Bois – 29 juin 2022

The Maurice Carême promenade is a quay. It is in a flood zone.

© Robin des Bois – 29 juin 2022

As it stands, the promenade is unhealthy. Tomorrow, after the asphalt covering, it will remain so, but the pollution will be ‘encapsulated’ for an indefinite period. The renovation plan for the area around Notre-Dame released to the press on 27 June is silent on this subject, just as it is silent on the pollution in the forecourt, masked by the resin and regularly dispersed by high-pressure washing or storms. The artists’ views and budget estimates do not take account of invisible pollution.

If an estate agent or the diocese ever sells nos. 24 and 22 Promenade Maurice Carême, beware and ask for a lead diagnosis first.

Unless the lead pollution is washed away by the flooding of the Seine in the meantime, it may be discovered 700 years from now by archaeologists, like the lead sarcophagi recently unearthed in the basement of Notre-Dame de Paris, and considered by researchers to be one of the remains of the fire in April 2019.

It is not known whether the parapets will also be coated with asphalt (they may have been cleaned with a karcher using the Seine as a dustbin) or whether it will be forbidden to sit on them or whether the promenade will remain closed to children under 7 and women who are pregnant or of childbearing age. There is no press kit on this subject yet.

UPDATE – May 1st, 2023

Here is the result:

1er mai 2023 © Robin des Bois

1er mai 2023 © Robin des Bois

Link to Robin des Bois publications on the Notre-Dame de Paris fire.