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This emblematic symbol of the capital called "honorary citizen."

Published on 23 février 2025 at 08h30

by The Editor

© Samuel Borges Photography / Shutterstock

After granting honorary citizenship to Paul Watson a few weeks ago, the Paris Council decided to give this award to someone—or rather, something—quite different on February 12th. Indeed, this time there’s no environmental activist or Franco-Colombian representative held hostage by the Farc (I’m talking about Ingrid Betancourt); it's simply… the Seine!

In 2016, after Nelson Mandela, Hauwa Ibrahim, and the Dalai Lama, it was the very general concept of biodiversity that received the title of honorary citizen of the city of Paris. And since then, the Paris Council has returned to more classic profiles like that of Paul Watson, it's happening again at the beginning of 2025 because this time it’s not a human who has been named, but a place, an emblematic symbol of the City of Light. It's a powerful gesture that once again puts the most famous river in France in the spotlight.


A historic tribute

Since the very beginnings of the history of the capital, when Paris was just a village stretching on both sides of the Seine, this last...

has played a major role for its inhabitants. Source of drinking water, trade route, artistic inspiration for all the local painters, it has established itself over the years as one of the most important and symbolic elements of the capital. You can regularly find archives and artifacts that witness the evolution of the capital, such as Roman weapons, shells from World War II, or Vélibs. Even today, it welcomes everyone to its banks, without any distinction, and has even participated in an unprecedented way in the 2024 Olympics. And it is to acknowledge once and for all its central role in the history and identity of the capital that the Council...from Paris voted on February 12 to grant her a title like no other: that of honorary citizen.


An Essential Recognition

Through this tribute, the City of Paris hopes to increase visibility around the river, to continue efforts for the protection and enhancement of the Seine. This is a symbolic recognition that could lead to legal acknowledgment of this symbol, thereby providing better defense. Indeed, by granting rights to the Seine, it could receive more protection, such as restoration in case of environmental damage or the right to conserve spaces. This decision by the Paris Council comes just a few months before the river opens for swimming, which is expected to happen as soon as next summer. Just goes to show that when ...Jacques Prévert wrote in 1957, “The Seine is like a person,” and he wasn't completely wrong.

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