Four-month operation to clean waterway that has attracted tourists,fans of the film Amélie – and piles of rubbishAuthorities in Paris are to start draining the canal St-Martin, a favourite haunt of hipsters in north-eastern Paris, and in an attempt to refurbish (to brighten, freshen or polish; to restore or improve) its locks and remove nonsense. Commissioned by Napoleon in the early 19th century to provide fresh drinking water,the canal in the 10th arrondissement was paid for with a novel tax on wine. It went on to become a transport artery, but faced being decommissioned when boat traffic declined in the 1960s.
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Source: theguardian.com