The Fondation Etrillard is partnering with Voies Navigables de France for the restoration of the Canal de Midi. Built during the Reign of King Louis XIV by Pierre-Paul Riquet to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, the Canal du Midi has been on the UNESCO World Heritage of Humanity list since 1996.
For several years now, an incurable disease, coloured canker, has been decimating the plane trees along the Canal du Midi in an unstoppable fashion as it cannot be treated. Faced with the need to replace part of its landscape heritage, the Canal du Midi is currently going through a major period of change in a bid to safeguard the environmental quality of the site and maintain its status as a key cultural and tourist attraction for France.
® Daniel Banon
The Fondation Etrillard’s support will make a crucial contribution to passing this outstanding heritage on to future generations:
• by reducing the environmental risks associated with its restoration and thus helping to protect a listed UNESCO World Heritage of Humanity site;
• by supporting VNF’s efforts to raise the general public’s awareness about environmental protection and the promotion of historical and cultural heritage, through such measures as exhibitions, inclusive events and campaigns putting the project in the spotlight.
Through the restoration of the Canal du Midi, the Fondation Etrillard is helping to promote and defend a more sustainable means of inland waterway transport (freight and passengers) that is driving forward the ecological transition.
