From Beauty to Neglect

As the years passed, Canal Saint-Martin faced new struggles threatening its beauty and purpose. It was no longer filled with the commercial barges of its past. Instead, the canal slowly became a neglected spot, with its waters now cluttered with leisure boats drifting through murky depths.

Urban runoff, litter, and a lack of maintenance polluted the canal and piled up layers of sludge over time. By the late 20th century, it had earned an unfortunate reputation as a floating dump, littered with plastic bags, bottles, and oddities like abandoned bicycles and, on rare occasions, a car resting beneath its troubled surface.