A Woman's Paris ~ Joie de Vivre

By Philippa Campsie

Barbara Redmond

Exactly 100 years ago, La Seine flooded her banks. Heavy rains had persisted through December 1909 and early January 1910, the tributaries of the Seine swelled, and the river began to rise.

At first, nobody was particularly worried. The Seine had risen before, and the embankments had contained it. The first hint that something was really wrong came on January 21, at precisely 10:50 a.m., when all the municipal electric clocks stopped at once. The power station that ran the clocks had been flooded.

The next week was a nightmare. Huge areas of central Paris were underwater. It was also bitterly cold; photos show the roof of Notre Dame covered with snow. People used boats to navigate the streets—some of the photos from the time could be mistaken for Venice. In some places, people hastily created paths made of planks held up with stones. The Metro, parts of which were still under construction, was badly damaged.

The waters peaked on Friday January 28 (in some places, up to 25 feet above their normal level) and finally began to recede on the Saturday morning. If you can imagine, at their highest the waters completely covered the arches of the Pont du Carrousel in front of the Louvre (shown in Barbara’s illustration).

Those who have the good fortune to be in Paris this winter can visit one of two exhibits on the flood.

One is at the Pavillon de l’eau, 77 avenue de Versailles, Paris 16eme, between January 20 and April 17, 2010. (Yes, Paris has an entire museum and display area devoted to its water system. The one of us who works in urban planning thinks this is quite wonderful.)

The other is presented by the Historic Libraries of Paris at the Galerie des bibliothèques, 22 rue Malher, Paris 4eme, between January 8 and March 28, 2010.

You can also look for the markings on the walls of some of the old houses on the Ile de la Cité that show how high the water rose.

If you are not in Paris, you can read all about it in Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910 by Jeffrey H. Jackson (see http://www.parisunderwater.com).

There are two words used to describe this event in French, as you can see from the website links above. It is sometimes called La crue de la Seine—crue means the rising or overflowing of the river – and the result was une inondation (flood) or a flooded city (Paris inondé). The victims of the disaster were called sinistrés (un sinistre is a disaster).

BOOK RECOMMENDATION BY A WOMAN’S PARIS

Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910, by Jeffrey H. Jackson. Palgrave Macmillan publishers. First edition (2010).

Philippa Campsie teaches part-time in the urban planning program at the University of Toronto and runs her own writing and research business, Hammersmith Communications. Before starting her own business, she was editor-in-chief at Macmillan Canada. Philippa lived in Paris as a student and regularly travels to Paris and Normandy. She is interested in stories of famous Parisian women throughout the ages and how they influenced the Parisian style we have come to love and know.

You may also enjoy A Woman’s Paris® post, Paris in the Rain, by Parisian Abby Rodgers who writes about how Paris becomes a different place when it rains.  As Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” comments, walking through Paris in the rain can be a magical experience because you have the ability to discover the city from a whole new point of view.  Including Abby’s suggestions of favorite boutiques, museums, and shops to explore while walking around Paris.

A walk in a French garden, by Canadian writer Philippa Campsie who writes about her experiences in the famous Jardin des Tuileries. Philippa also delves into the history and importance of garden design in France.  Including French to English vocabulary translations of gardening terms.

L’heure bleue: the moment I fell in love with Paris, by Barbara Redmond who shares her unexpected first experiences with Paris. She was met with noise and hot and humid air; it was not the beautiful Paris she had imagined. Barbara discusses how there was moment when she found the true Paris and fell in love. 

The world of aristocratic Paris, by author Jan Dolphin. Enter the gates of the eighteenth century parc Monçeau and from there discover two historic townhouses: Musée Nissim de Camondo and Musée Jacquemart-André.

I dream of Paris. Writer and educator Natalie Ehalt shares the quote from Napoléon, who wrote in 1795, “A woman, in order to know what is due her and what her power is, must live in Paris for six months.” To Natalie, Paris is the ultimate in elegance and style. It is old-fashioned, it is cobblestone, it is aprons, it is a chauffeur helping you step off the curb…

Text copyright ©2010 Philippa Campsie. All rights reserved
Illustration copyright ©2012 Barbara Redmond. All rights reserved.
barbara@awomansparis.com