The man ‘entrenched’ on a 200-year-old tree under the Eiffel Tower to prevent tree felling

Mr. Thomas Brail (right) “camps” on a 200-year-old tree at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – Photo: EURONEWS

Thomas Brail, founder of the National Tree Protection Organization (GNSA), has gained attention through his tree protection activities.

He climbed different trees in Paris to protest against a planning project called OnE, which is expected to cut down trees for tourism development.

According to Euronews, Mr. Brail is currently “camping” on a 200-year-old tree belonging to the Platanus family in the garden of Champ-de-Mars, which is also the place under the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

He wants to protect this 200-year-old tree as well as about 40 other trees at risk of being cut down.

Faced with this opposition, on May 30, the Deputy Mayor of Paris and the person in charge of urban planning and architecture, Emmanuel Grégoire, announced on his Twitter account that the development plan of Paris City Hall, also known as OnE, will be modified to protect trees.

Still, Brail was not pleased with Mr. Grégoire’s response, as Brail believed that the OnE project should be abandoned altogether, as otherwise the project would still have the potential to damage the roots of certain trees. , including the tree he was camping in.

Mr. Grégoire affirmed that the project will not affect the root system, but Brail stated he would only leave when the trees were truly safe.

Euronews news website reported that Mr. Brail climbed a tree on May 30, and started a hunger strike from June 4 to show his protest more strongly.

Brail is also urging new Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to pass new legislation to protect healthy trees from being cut down.