Ô Mon Fleuve - The River Court : A Festival for the Rights of the Garonne
Maison de la Nature et de l'Environnement Bordeaux
France
Ô Mon Fleuve is an annual socio-cultural festival organised by MNE, a community hub on the banks of the Garonne in Bordeaux, France. Combining artistic performances, scientific mediation and participatory formats, it engages 700+ citizens in democratic deliberation on their river's ecological future. Its centrepiece, the Tribunal du Fleuve, invites citizens, artists and scientists to deliberate on whether the Garonne should be granted legal rights — as ecosystems in New Zealand and India already have. Edition 1 (October 2024): 700 participants. Edition 2: October 2026.
Ô Mon Fleuve takes place over two days on the banks of the Garonne in Bordeaux, at MNE (Maison de la Nature et de l'Environnement), a 40-year-old community center, operating for cultural and social animation.
The festival gathers 15+ local organisations, scientists, artists, educators and citizens through river walks, science workshops, low-tech competitions, concerts and the Tribunal du Fleuve. In this participatory theatre format, citizens-turned-actors work alongside professional performers and scientists to collectively plead for the rights of the Garonne — inspired by the international movement for ecosystem legal rights (Whanganui, NZ; Ganges, India).
Edition 1 (October 5, 2024): ~700 participants of all ages. Edition 2 (October 2026) expands to two days, adds a school and professional programme, a low-tech water innovation contest, and deepens the Tribunal du Fleuve methodology with Maxime Ghesquière, Bordeaux's elected water officer and researcher on the Garonne's legal personhood.