“I am absolutely amazed! When taking her child to school this Wednesday morning, Anne thought she was hallucinating when she discovered a sign for the city of Rennes hanging on a tree at the entrance to Thabor park. “Faced with the acceleration of the disappearance of birds, Rennes Métropole undertakes to install connected boxes in the parks in order to maintain an appropriate sound presence for your walks”, is it displayed. “These loudspeakers will reproduce the song of the birds with quality, continues the text. By detecting the signal from your smartphones, the boxes will activate as you walk. Taking the logo of the community and signed by the management of parks and gardens, the panel, also posted in other parks in the city, announces the installation of around twenty boxes at the beginning of July for a first phase of experimentation. “before a massive deployment in September. »
Coming from Laval with his wife to discover the Breton capital, Marc also remains speechless in front of the panel. “The city therefore notes that the birds have disappeared and that it will therefore be necessary to be content to listen to them via loudspeakers, it is completely mind-blowing and sad”, he indicates. On a lunch break, Myriam also has trouble understanding the process. “We are in a kind of virtual reality that is completely beyond me”, reacts this young woman. Same story with Alban, a student in Rennes but who lives in the countryside. “We want to pretend that there is life in the park when biodiversity is threatened with extinction,” he says. Faced with the outcry caused by these panels, 20 minutes tried to find out if this project was in the city’s pipes.
FAKE OFF
Even if it is rather well shot (despite some small spelling errors) and uses the logo of the city, this sign is in fact a hoax. Contacted, the city confirms that this project has never been relevant and that the panels, placed illegally, will be removed as soon as possible. It is not known, however, who is behind this action, which has not yet been claimed. “It is surely to warn about the disappearance of birds which is very real”, believes Yann, convinced from the start that it was “a bad joke”.