PARIS — For at least a little while longer, the turtles can live and swim in peace.
For at least a little while longer, the construction permits for the latest French Open expansion project remain on hold as the local and national authorities squabble among themselves.
And so the turtles, who dwell in a small pool filled with flat rocks in a greenhouse in the botanical gardens adjacent to Roland Garros Stadium, can remain, none the wiser, in their modest abode.
The French Tennis Federation’s plan, often revised and often delayed, calls for the tournament to build a new show court with a capacity of 4,800 in the gardens, Les Serres d’Auteuil, which until now have been a place of calm and reflection during the tournament (as well as the other 50 weeks of the year) for the few who wander into them.