Sarah Knafo, Reconquête! candidate for Paris mayor, promotes an ambitious and rigorously costed program. Yet, analysis shows underestimated expenses and unrealistic savings in her 130-page manifesto. A flagship project, a two-kilometer promenade above the riverside expressways, raises technical and regulatory issues.
Sarah Knafo positions her 'manifeste pour une ville heureuse' as the most ambitious plan for the March 15 and 22 Paris municipal elections. This 130-page document, with its bright yellow cover, is claimed to be costed with utmost rigor by the candidate.
However, close examination uncovers weaknesses in the financial estimates. A key initiative is building a 'magnifique promenade' two kilometers long above the riverside expressways, which Knafo plans to reopen to car traffic. This proposal faces significant hurdles, as outlined by Bernard Landau, urban planner and former city architect-voyer until 2014.
The Seine banks, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, are protected, and the project would require felling over 100 large trees. Knafo insists the structure can be straightforward: 'un portique appuyé sur une ligne d'arches côté Seine et sur le mur de quai existant côté rue'. But Landau disagrees: 'ce n’est pas possible : ce mur n’est pas destiné à soutenir un portique, à moins de le renforcer', especially since the wall sits on the current expressway, built on piles likely needing reinforcement.
These aspects highlight an approximate costing, with minimized expenses and overly optimistic savings, potentially complicating the implementation of the candidate's proposals.
