The story of the Pont de l’Alma Zouave, the statue measuring the Seine’s spate

Did you know, that for over 150 years, there is someone able to assess the rise of the level of the Seine in the blink of an eye? Their name is the Zouave, and it consists of a stone statue set beneath the Pont de l'Alma and used for decades to measure the level of the Parisian river.

Part of an ensemble of four statues representing soldiers who took part in the Crimean war led from 1853 to 1856 by Napoleon III, the Zouave of the Pont de l’Alma is a piece by French sculptor Georges Diebolt. Set in 1856 beneath the Pont de l’Alma, there is just the Zouave statue left now, on the Right Bank, as the Chasseur, the Artilleryman and the Grenadier have been removed in the 1970’s during extension works of the bridge.

The origin of the soldier who served as model for the Zouave still sparks debates; they could be soldier André-Louis Gody, or a Breton man named Nérigot or Bérizot. He is dressed in the traditional zouave uniform, aka South-African soldiers enrolled to the battles of the Second Empire, and especially the Battle of Alma in 1854: the famous fez on the head, a button-less jacket, baggy trousers and gaiters.

• To be read
• History of the Pont de l'Alma
• Bridges in Paris
• August 31st Paris Ephemeris: Lady Diana's fatal accident in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel

But then, what is the link between the Zouave and the rise in level of the Seine? Since the beginning of the past century, it is said that when the Zouave has his feet in the water, the Seine is rising! And the tradition actually was proven right: during the famous 1910 Great Flood of Paris, the level of the Seine rose so much – up to 8.62 meters (28.28 feet) – that the Zouave was in the water up to his shoulders!

But since the renovations of the bridge in the 1970’s the Zouave’s opinion is no longer as incontestable. As a matter of fact, the statue was moved and it is likely it was replaced higher or lower on the pilar of the Alma bridge. But the Parisian tradition goes on!