Watertrek is very honored to have been able to speak at the Droit de la Seine Mock Trial held at the Théâtre de la Concorde on December 9, with the aim of dramatizing the possibility of the river being seen as a legal personality in its own right.

Our co-founder Séverine - actress and artist - took the stand and reminded us how important it was to change our perspective, to move away from anthropocentrism - that “ultimate myth, peculiar to Man, (...) which leads us to believe that we are masters and possessors of nature, (...) and tells us that the wild world is a huge open-air supermarket (...)”, as Paul Watson explains; to place ourselves at the heart of the living world, within the weave of ‘interdependencies’ and ‘mutual vulnerabilities’ so well described by the philosopher Baptiste Morizot. Séverine then referred to children's literature, reminding us that we all have within us the capacity to change our outlook, our relationships and our points of view.

Thanks to all those who initiated this project: Marine Calmet at Wild Legal, Anne Hidalgo and the teams at Paris City Hall, Elsa Boublil at the Théâtre de la Concorde, and all the experts, witnesses and lawyers who spoke: Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, Mayor of Rouen; Edgar Mora Altamirano, Costa Rican Minister of Public Education; François Molins, Public Prosecutor; Jean-Michel Hayat, President of the Paris Court of Appeal; Julie Couturier, President of the Conseil National des Baraux; Corinne Lepage, former Minister of the Environment; Marion Chapouton, General Secretary of GRIDAUH; Vanessa Bousardo, Vice-President of the Paris Bar Association; Patrick Klugman, lawyer; Laurence Roques, lawyer; Laurent Fonbaustier, Associate Professor of Law at Paris-Saclay and Charlène Descollonges, hydrologist.

This mock trial will evolve into the launch of a Citizen's Convention for the Rights of the River to draft legislation, starting in February 2025.

Photos: Sabrina Aliane