There has been lots of construction going on in Besançon relating to the tramway project, and yesterday evening I was shocked to discover that all but a handful of the 85 gorgeous old platanes (sycamore trees) that line the Battant-neighborhood side of the Doubs (not the centre-ville side) had been cut down. I was on my way to a doctor's appointment to get a medical certificate signed for Ultimate and another one for the marathon and I was totally caught off guard by the giant uprooted trunks strewn pell-mell across the quai. The tramway could end up being a really good thing for Besançon (making it easier for people to circulate around the city, better integrating the people who live in Planoise, limiting the car traffic, etc), but I still felt depressed seeing all of those felled trees. Or, at least, made me reflect a bit on the relationship of progress and what we sacrifice in order to achieve that progress. I noticed too that the faces of everyone I saw in the vicinity reflected the same shock that I felt. Apparently the fact that they were going to tear down the trees was announced quite a while ago, but it came as a surprise to me. They didn't appear to have made much progress in removing the debris when I walked by again around noon today (to get another form signed by the doctor). They've planned to replace the trees once the construction is over, but of course it's going to take a long time for them to grow back to the same splendor of the previous ones.
Check out this link to a local news report.
