The Seine has seen many floods in its history, some of them linked to a particularly severe frost, which led to the Parisian river being covered in ice! In 1868, the water level had risen by just 50cm, while in 1880 it had risen by 1.50m, a unique event that even caused the second arch of the Pont des Invalides to collapse. Today, such a thing is much rarer, but there is a contemporary episode dating back to 1956.
To see the Seine frozen, temperatures had to reach -10 degrees for at least 3 days. But it also depended on the level of the river, as it takes a long time to freeze, even longer if it's in flood. It's also rare to see the whole river frozen over; usually, only a few sections were icebound. Parisian archives record a very long freeze in 1783, lasting almost two whole months, and four in 1655! When the Seine was ice-covered in this way, it was possible to walk on it, even if dangerous, as the ice was rarely thick enough to support pedestrians. More often, however, the river has carried blocks of ice, carrying the capital's ice with it.
1956 was the Seine's last major freeze-up, during a particularly harsh winter. Although the river has not frozen in Paris since, it did freeze over in 2006 in Seine-et-Marne, at Ponthierry. Withclimate disruption, this type of episode is becoming rarer, whereas in the 19th century, they occurred every 15 years or so. And while the cold of early December 2022 may have dampened spirits, it wasn't enough to freeze the Seine! Fortunately, the INA archives allow us to put ourselves in the shoes of the Parisians who lived through it!
