When a Paris canal is drained

A Paris canal is being drained this week for cleaning, first into a puddle and then into a dry ditch.

Canal Saint-Martin, popular with Parisians and visitors alike for its arched bridges, locks and trendy surrounding neighborhood, was emptied for the first time in 14 years beginning Monday.

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The canal was completed in 1825 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte, who wanted to reinforce the city's supply of drinking water.

It will be closed until the beginning of April, according to the Paris mayor's office. At the last cleaning, 40 tons of waste — mud, sludge and trash — was removed and treated, including at least one car.

Workers remove fish from the Canal Saint Martin in Paris on Wednesday.

A passerby looks over the newly revealed debris.

A bicycle and shopping cart.

Workers slosh through the shallow water and mud to recover trapped fish.

A pile of debris in the canal included bicycles, bottles, shopping carts and other trash.

A worker leaves a trail of mud as he wades through the canal.

A recovered fish.

A lost cellphone.

A discarded motor scooter.

When was the last time you saw a boom box?

Workers catch trapped fish.

People watch from a bridge as as the canal is drained.

A worker checks the alignment of a metal dam as it is lowered into position across the Canal Saint Martin in Paris on Monday in preparation for the drainage, cleaning and the servicing of its locks.

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