''The Zouave'' is an 1856 stone statue by French artist

Georges Diebolt Georges Diebolt, sometimes spelled Diébolt, (6 May 1816, Dijon – 7 November 1861, Paris) was a French sculptor best known for his publicly commissioned monumental works, including ''The Zouave'' and on the pont de l'Alma in Paris and the ''M ...

, which has been sited on the

Pont de l'Alma Pont, meaning "bridge" in French, may refer to: Places France * Pont, Côte-d'Or, in the Côte-d'Or ''département'' * Pont-Bellanger, in the Calvados ''département'' * Pont-d'Ouilly, in the Calvados ''département'' * Pont-Farcy, in the Cal ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

since the 1850s. The statue is used as an informal flood marker for the level of the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

in Paris.

Background

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

over the Seine was first constructed at this location in Paris in the 1850s, connecting the

Avenue George V The Avenue George V () is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It starts at the Place de l'Alma, and ends at 99 avenue des Champs-Elysées. It marks the western limit of Paris's "golden triangle" (). Until 14 July 1918, the avenue was c ...

(formerly the Avenue d'Alma) to the

Quai d'Orsay The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a quay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. It becomes the Quai Anatole-France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai Branly west of the ...

and

Quai Branly A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

. The new bridge was named after the 1854

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septe ...

in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. The two supporting piers of the bridge in the river were decorated with military sculptures, one on each side of each pier. Each of the four sculptures depicts a French soldier from the Crimean War: a

Zouave The Zouaves () were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army and other units modelled on it, which served between 1830 and 1962, and served in French North Africa. The zouaves were among the most decorated units of the French Army ...

and a

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

, and a

chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army o ...

and an artilleryman by Auguste Arnaud. Three of the four statues on the Pont de l'Alma were removed and relocated when the bridge was reconstructed as a wider

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge d ...

in the 1970s, but ''The Zouave'' was reinstalled on the new bridge, although in a somewhat lower position. File:Chasseur a pied.jpg, by Auguste Arnaud, now at the Redoute de Gravelle, in the

Bois de Vincennes The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, France, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III. The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of ...

File:L'artilleur à Fère.jpg, by Auguste Arnaud, now in

La Fère La Fère () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in France. It was once famous for its military school (1720), one the oldest commissioned for instructing ordnance officers. History During World War II, Nazi Germany operat ...

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

File:Diebolt - le grenadier .jpg, by Georges Diebolt, in

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, birthplace of its sculptor

Description

The French Zouave wears the traditional uniform based on the styles of clothing worn in North Africa in the early 1800s, with a short open-fronted jacket, sashes, and baggy trousers (

sirwal Sirwal, also sherwal, saroual, seroual, sarouel or serouelSmith, Robin (199''American Civil War Zouaves'', p. 52. Osprey PublishingAt Google Books. Retrieved 23 August 2013. ( (''sirwāl''), also known, in some contexts, as (a subtype of) Hare ...

) gathered above the ankle. The figure has removed its fez, and is resting on a grounded rifle. The statue is high and weighs 8 tonnes. It is said to have been modelled on André-Louis Gody. ''The Zouave'' statue is used as an informal flood marker in Paris: the footpaths along the embankments beside the Seine were usually closed when the level of the river reached the feet of ''The Zouave'', and the river was unnavigable by the time it reached his thighs. At the time of the

1910 Great Flood of Paris The 1910 Great Flood of Paris () was a catastrophe in which the Seine River, carrying winter rains from its tributaries, flooded the conurbation of Paris, France. The Seine water level rose eight meters (more than 26 feet) above the ordinary lev ...

, the floodwater reached his shoulders. The official point for measuring the level of the river is now at the

Pont d'Austerlitz The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge which crosses the Seine River in Paris, France. It owes its name to the battle of Austerlitz (1805). Location The bridge links the 12th arrondissement at the rue Ledru-Rollin, to the 5th and 13th arrondissements, ...

: before 1876 it was at

Pont de la Tournelle The (, ''Tournelle Bridge''), is an arch bridge spanning the river Seine in Paris. History The location of the is the site of successive structures. The first, a wooden bridge, was built in 1620. This bridge connected the Eastern bank of the ...

. File:Zouave du Pont de l'Alma, février 1910.jpg, ''Zouave'' statue submerged above its waist by a flood at the old bridge in 1924 File:Zouave du pont de l'Alma - Flood - 2013-02-11 - 02.jpg, ''Zouave'' statue in a flood at the new bridge in 2013

References

''Zouave'' statue on Pont de l'Alma in Paris
travelfranceonline.com, 5 February 2018
''The Zouave'' of the River Seine – Famous statue

''Zouave'' de Paris : qui est-il vraiment?
vivreparis.fr, 1 February 2018 (in French)
Qui est ce Zouave, vigie des crues de Paris ?
franceculture.fr, 26 January 2018 (in French)
Les histoires extraordinaires - ''Le Zouave'' du Pont de l'Alma
europe1.fr, 28 January 2018 (in French) {{Coord, 48.86382, 2.30202, display=title 1856 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Paris Outdoor sculptures in Paris Stone sculptures in France