International conference

In 2026, the Canal du Midi will commemorate 30 years since its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Using the Canal du Midi's 350-year history and its repeated transformations as a starting point, this anniversary provides an opportunity to broaden the discussion to canals — understood as constructions built (rather than modifications of pre-existing rivers) — from past to present, and on a global scale.
By comparing canals, their similarities and differences, in their past and future trajectories, this symposium aims to draw lessons that can help address the environmental, social, and economic challenges of tomorrow.

Artificial Waterways : Governance, uses and environmental issues of canals from yesterday to tomorrow

Online registrations for the conference

november 2026 24 to 26
3 days of conference
Toulouse
and Castelnaudary

Program of the symposium on Tuesday, November 24

>>> Conference venue : Université Toulouse Jean-Jaurès / Maison de la Recherche - amphi F417

8:30 AM : Participant registration
9:00 AM : Opening of the symposium
9:30 AM : Introduction to the symposium
Emmanuelle Charpentier, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - FRAMESPA University; Philippe Dugot, Professor of Geography, Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - LISST University; Nicolas Marqué, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - FRAMESPA University; and Philippe Valette, Professor of Environmental Geography, Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - GEODE University

Tracing the history of the canals

9:50 AM : Building a canal by correspondence. Scholarly networks and technical transfers in the 17th Century
Anne-Marie Cheny, lecturer in modern history, University of Rouen Normandy-GRhis and Aline Peyronnet, independent researcher, Association for the Preservation, Study and Research of the natural and cultural heritage of the Centre-Var
10:10 AM : The Canal du Midi as heritage: tax system and property issues (1684-1793)
Anne Conchon, Professor of Modern History, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - IDHE.S
Discussion – break
11:10 AM: Defending the Languedoc Canal’s lordship during the Age of Enlightenment: feudal diplomacy along the waterways
Josselin Hénaff, holder of a Master’s degree in History, Civilizations, and Heritage, specializing in history, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-FRAMESPA
11:30 AM: The School of Canal Engineering (1759-1763): an ephemeral but pioneering institution
Catherine Isaac, independent researcher, HISTARA
11:50 AM: Four canals in one. The stages of the Rhône to Sète canal’s construction (c. 1700 - c. 1830)
Stéphane Durand, Professor of Modern History, Avignon University, Norbert Elias Centre
Discussion
2:00 PM: «The canal with the river, despite the river, within the river.» Inland navigation in the Loire basin put to the test by an unfinished canal network (17th century – early 20th century)
Yves Lecoeur, Associate Researcher, HLLI-CRHAEL

2:20 PM: The White Sea Canal, the last construction site-penal colony in history?
Sofiane Bouhdiba, professor of demography, University of Tunis, Tunisia

Valorize the canals

2:40 PM: A «very regional, one-way canal»? Study of goods flows that used the Royal Canal of Languedoc under the Ancien Régime
Nicolas Marqué, lecturer in modern history, Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - FRAMESPA University
3:00 PM: Between dreams and usefulness. When canal projects combine with commercial products (France, 1820-1840)
Yvon Mullier-Plouzennec, Senior Lecturer in Architectural History and Cultures, ENSA Paris-Belleville-IPRAUS and Solenn Guével, Senior Lecturer in Theories and Practices of Architectural and Urban Design, ENSA Paris-Belleville-IPRAUS
Discussion – break
4:00 PM: Tourism dynamics of the Canal du Midi in a context of landscape transition and strong attractiveness
Patrice Ballester, lecturer-researcher to l’IEFT - School of Tourism HEP Lyon
4:20 PM: Reinvesting in the buildings along the Canal du Midi: strategies and use of heritage designation
Adrien Privat, doctoral student, ENSA Toulouse-LRA
4:40 PM: The riverbank.“A garden”to share? Living together, appropriation and belonging on the Canal du Midi
Lola Bourgeais, holder of a Master’s degree in Ethnological Expertise of Intangible Heritage, University of Toulouse - Jean Jaurès, filmmaker
5:00 PM: Safeguarding elements of intangible cultural heritage related to the Grand Canal of China
Ma Qianli, French teacher and vice-dean, Faculty of International Studies, Yangzhou University, China
Discussion
5:40 PM: The National Archives and the history of canals in France: presentation of the collections of major producers and sources relating to the Canal du Midi
Béatrice Crépon, documentary research officer at the Ministry of Culture, head of the canals, rivers, roads and meteorology collections at the National Archives, in the Environment, Land Use Planning and Agriculture department
6:00 PM: Innovating and undertaking: canals through the lens of the archives of the Princes of the Blood (18th century): state of the sources preserved at the National Archives
Maïa Pirat, documentary research officer, head of heritage collections at the National Archives, Department of the Middle Ages and the Ancien Régime
Discussion
6:30 PM: End of the first day

Program of the symposium on Wednesday, November 25

>>> Conference venue : Université Toulouse Jean-Jaurès / Maison de la Recherche - amphi F417

World Heritage canal

9:00 AM: Territory-building around a canal – the example of the Canal du Midi
Evelyne Sanchis, Head of the Contractual Policies, Heritage and Culture Department at the South-West Regional Directorate of Waterways of France, and Laurent Cyrot, Project Director for the Canal du Midi and the Sustainable Toulouse-Blagnac Airport at the Prefecture of the Occitanie Region
9:20 AM: The Canal du Centre: a hydraulic engineering at the heart of World Heritage
Vincent Despiegeleer, Director, Waterways Department of Mons, Walloon Public Service, Mobility and Infrastructure; Didier Dehon, Art Historian, Western Zone Department, Walloon Heritage Agency, Walloon Public Service, Territory, Housing, Heritage and Energy; and Guillaume Hellemans, Art Historian, Strategic Development Department, Walloon Heritage Agency, Walloon Public Service, Territory, Housing, Heritage and Energy, Belgium
9:40 AM: The Augsburg Water Management System, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019
Barbara Buehler-Karpati, Head of the World Heritage Office, Department for Education, Science, Culture and World Heritage, City of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany
Discussion - break
10:40 AM: Governance, Contemporary Use, and Climate Resilience : Lessons from Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site
Sara Perera-Hammond, Regeneration Project Manager, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site, Wales, United Kingdom
11 :00 AM: Rideau Canal World Heritage Site: Effectively administering a 19th century canal in the 21st century
John Festarini, Acting Director, Ontario Waterways, Parks Canada
11:20 AM: Strengthening Collaborative Management: conservation practices of the Dujiangyan, a World Heritage Site
Sun Yan, Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences et Lei Xian, Beijing Qing Yuan Cultural Heritage Conservation Center Co., Ltd, China
Discussion

Integrating canals into their environment

2:00 PM: The Mae Kha Canal (Chiang Mai, Thailand), revealing the interconnections between heritage-making and urban development
Armelle Ninnin, architect-urban planner, PhD in Spatial Planning and Urbanism, IPRAUS
2:20 PM: From industrial wasteland to coveted space for an Olympic and Paralympic hub. What changes and coexistence of uses along the Saint-Denis canal?
Marianne Hérard, associate researcher, LAVUE Altérité et Territoires, and research engineer, University of Paris 8-MSH Paris Nord
2:40 PM: From waterways to contemporary urban forms in Ho Chi Minh City: spatial continuities, cultural heritage and environmental challenges
Phuoc Van Anh Nguyen, PhD in Architecture, Urban Planning, Landscape and Heritage, EVCAU-ENSA Paris-Val de Seine
3:00PM: Shaping the landscapes of the Royal Canal of Languedoc from 1666 to the present day: between urban and rural worlds
Manon Clavel, holder of a Master’s degree in History, Civilizations, and Heritage, specializing in history, University
3:20 PM: How the Canal du Midi supplied water to the canals to combat phylloxera. Sharing water between navigation, flooding, and irrigation under the Third Republic
Alice Ingold, Director of Studies, EHESS-Centre for Historical Research
Discussion – break
4:20 PM: From the Craponne canal to the Crau aquifer: sharing water and managing scarcity
Marielle Montginoul, Research Director, INRAE-G-EAU, François Molle, Research Director, IRD-G-EAU, and Tristan Guérin, PhD student, INRAE-IRD-G-EAU, thesis funded by the European Horizon GOVAQUA project
4:40 PM: Financing the Neste Canal (1846-2026): Towards full recognition of the diversity of services provided
Maxime Roussel, CIFRE PhD student in economics, Rives & Eaux du Sud-Ouest and INRAE-G-EAU, and Solène Laloux, mission director, general management of Rives & Eaux du Sud-Ouest
5:00 PM: The Canal du Midi: a structuring tool of the Territorial Project for Water Management in the Aude basin
Philippe Cluzel, Director of Strategy and Water Resources and Project Manager for Water Resources and Low Water Support, SMMAR EPTB Aude
5:20 PM: Water management of the Canal du Midi: past and present challenges and new challenges linked to climate change
Émilie Collet, head of the Water and Environment unit, and Samuel Vannier, head of the Heritage, Culture, and Archives unit at the South-West regional office of Voies navigables de France.
Discussion
6:00 PM: End of the second day
7:30 PM: Gala dinner (Salons de l’Hôtel de ville, place du Capitole, Toulouse)

Program on Thursday, November 26

Day spent as part of the Canal du Midi committee (Castelnaudary and Seuil de Naurouze)

The Canal du Midi Committee is a governance body bringing together all stakeholders involved in the in the management of the Canal du Midi (the State, Voies navigables de France, local authorities, and socio-professional representatives). A true Canal Parliament, it serves as a forum for the co-construction of the Canal du Midi’s major policies. It is co-chaired by the Prefect of the Occitanie Region, the President of the Occitanie Region, and the Director General of Voies navigables de France.

8:00 AM: Meeting point for the bus departure from Toulouse (place d’Arménie, Toulouse)
9:30 AM: Welcome (Théâtre municipal - Scènes des trois ponts de Castelnaudary)
10:00 AM: Presentations by local stakeholders and a round table on the management of canals inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Théâtre municipal - Scènes des trois Ponts de Castelnaudary)
1:00 PM: Lunch (Halles de Castelnaudary)
2:30 PM: Guided tour of the grand bassin of Castelnaudary
4:00 PM: Guided tour of the seuil de Naurouze
6:00 PM: Arrival in Toulouse
8:00 PM: Fantasy concert «Jean-François Zygel sets the Canal du Midi to music» (Halle aux Grains - Toulouse)
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Canal du Midi’s inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, a memorable evening combining history, nature, and music is in store with pianist and composer Jean-François Zygel accompanied by musicians from the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse.

And in conjunction with the symposium

Monday, november 23

6:00–7:00 PM: Guided tour of the exhibition «The Canal du Midi: A Heritage to Reinvent»
> CAUE 31 – galerie - 24, rue Croix Baragnon à Toulouse

The Toulouse National School of Architecture, in partnership with the Haute-Garonne Council for Architecture, Urban Planning and Environment, presents an exhibition dedicated to this exceptional heritage, offering a fresh perspective that blends memory and future prospects. Through the work of architecture students, the exhibition explores new avenues for revitalising and reinventing sites along the Canal du Midi.

Friday, november 27

9:30-10:30 and 11:00-12:00: Guided tour of the Canal du Midi archives

> 20, port Saint-Etienne - Toulouse

Voies navigables de France, responsible for managing the Canal du Midi, houses the archives of the Canal du Midi since its inception in the building constructed for this purpose in 1830. This unique collection comprises 700 linear meters of documents: engineers’ reports, watercolor plans of the canal’s structures, correspondence, accounting records, posters, map rolls, and more. The archives pavilion, listed as a historical monument, is an integral part of the Canal du Midi UNESCO World Heritage Site.

9:30-10:30 and 11:00-12:00: Guided tour of the dry docks

> Cales de radoub – 65, allée des Demoiselles à Toulouse

The dry docks were created along the Canal du Midi starting in 1830 for the construction and repair of boats. Still in operation today, they also house the technical services of Voies navigables de France (the French Waterways Authority), responsible for the maintenance of the Canal du Midi. This unique site, home to the only covered dry dock on the Canal du Midi, is protected as a historic monument.

Bâtiment des archives du canal du Midi, Toulouse - VNF - Bâtiment des archives du canal du Midi, Toulouse - VNF

You wish to participate in the symposium

> Access the registration form

the detailed program in pdf

1996 - 2026: 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE FOR A HERITAGE GEM

Built in the 17th century to link the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, the Canal du Midi is a historic structure that remains in operation to this day. It has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996 in recognition of its universal and exceptional value.

Regarded as one of the most extraordinary civil engineering achievements of the modern era, the Canal du Midi bears witness to the technological advances that paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. Its inscription covers the 240 km of the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to the Étang de Thau (Marseillan), its 80 km water supply system in the Montagne Noire, as well as its 18th-century extensions (the Canal de Brienne, the Canaux de Jonction and the Canal de la Robine) – totalling 360 km of canals and watercourses spread across no fewer than 90 municipalities.

Organising and Scientific Committees

Organising Committee

Emmanuelle Charpentier, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – FRAMESPA UMR 5136
Laurent Cyrot, Project Director for the Canal du Midi to the Prefect of the Occitanie Region
Philippe Dugot, Professor of Geography, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – LISST UMR 5193
Nicolas Marqué, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – FRAMESPA UMR 5136
Evelyne Sanchis, Head of Contractual Policies, Heritage, and Culture Department at Voies navigables de France Sud-Ouest
Philippe Valette, Professor of Environmental Geography, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – GEODE UMR 5602
Samuel Vannier, Head of the Heritage, Culture, and Archives Unit at Voies navigables de France Sud-Ouest

Scientific responsables

Emmanuelle Charpentier, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – FRAMESPA UMR 5136
Philippe Dugot, Professor of Geography, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – LISST UMR 5193
Nicolas Marqué, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – FRAMESPA UMR 5136
Philippe Valette, Professor of Environmental Geography, University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès – GEODE UMR 5602

Scientific Committee

Philippe Béringuier, senior lecturer in geography, Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-GEODE University UMR 5602
Philippe Behra, professor of chemistry, INP-ENSIACET, Laboratory of agro-industrial chemistry
Emmanuelle Charpentier, lecturer in modern history, Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-FRAMESPA University UMR 5136
Anne Conchon, professor of modern history, university Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne-IDHES UMR 8533
Michel Cotte, honorary professor of technical history at the University of Nantes, advisor to ICOMOS international
David Dorchies, hydroinformatics engineer, INRAE-UMR G-EAU
Philippe Dugot, professor of geography, university Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-LISST UMR 5193
Stéphane Durand, professor of modern history, university of Avignon, CNE UMR 8562
Sophie Fradier, lecturer in the history of modern art, University Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-FRAMESPA UMR 5136
Maria Gravari-Barbas, professor of physical, human, economic and regional geography, university Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne-EIREST UR7337
François Gontard, Director of Planning and Heritage, BRL
Steve Hagimont, lecturer in contemporary history, IEP Toulouse-LaSSP
Bernard Le Sueur, distinguished teacher-trainer in contemporary history, university of Cergy-Pontoise
Nicolas Marqué, senior lecturer in modern history, University Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-FRAMESPA UMR 5136
Raphaël Morera, research director CNRS-CRH UMR 8558
Jean-Michel Minovez, professor of modern history, university Toulouse-Jean Jaurès- GEODE UMR 5602
Bruno Revelli, lecturer in geography, Toulouse-Jean Jaurès University - LISST UMR 5193
Sylvie Sagnes, CNRS-Héritages UMR 9022 researcher
Philippe Valette, Professor of environmental geography, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-GEODE UMR 5602
Jean-Pierre Wolff, emeritus professor of geography, university Toulouse-Jean Jaurès-LISST UMR 5193

Partners of the conference

Supported by the CHEDD, ministerial history committee of the ministerial pole of Spatial Planning and Ecological Transition.