Perhaps the city could ask the Fondation Louis Vuitton to subsidize the Serres d'Auteuil. Isn't it ironic that Gehry's new LV glass house is going up in the Bois de Boulogne while extraordinary, historic glass houses are being destroyed in the name of tennis? How many times have I photographed the delicate scalloped-edged glass of the Serres? How many times have I wandered through, my senses empowered by the sweet smell of soil, the feel of humidity, the sight of exotic plants on a rainy day in Paris? These glass houses are treasures. They have historic value to the city. Paris saved the Gare d'Orsay. Are not the Serres d'Auteuil of equal historic value? Is the problem that tourists do not visit? Is the problem that Roland-Garros lacks imagination for expanding its facilities? There must be a way to save le Parc d'Auteuil, les Serres d'Auteuil, et l'esprit d'Auteuil. Merci. Sharon from Oregon

#7590: Sharon - Vuitton to the rescue? 

 Thank you so much Sharon  for your testimony!

There are a lot of tourists in the Auteuil Botanical Garden, that's not the issue, the problem is that the garden is located accross the street from Roland-Garros, and that neither the City of Paris, neither the Minister of Culture or the Minister of Ecology are eager to tell the French Federation of Tennis to expand somewhere else, which is very easy to do.

It's a matter of politics and money, as usual, and your suggestion regarding the Fondation Vuitton subsidizing the Serres d'Auteuil is rather funny...Vuitton, like any other big company, being only interested in ...Vuitton, and by the way, their new building in the Bois de Boulogne is there because the City of Paris let them ignore the law forbidding such big buildings in the Bois.

The same people who let the Fondation Vuitton ignore the law are letting the French Federation of Tennis ignore the law regarding the Serres d'Auteuil....Only money counts, as usual...

But if you happen to know people at the Fondation Vuitton , feel free to ask them if they want to help to try and save the Serres d'Auteuil!

All my best,

Lise Bloch-Morhange

petition's author