Voyage On The Pont Neuf
Paris Kiosque - July 1997 - Volume 4, Number 7
Copyright (c) 1997 Jacqueline Donnelly - used with permission
There are many ways of taking a voyage in Paris. You could rent a barge,
or private yacht, or take the tourist boat, on an excursion around the Ile
de la Cité, which is the large island in the center of Paris.
Or if you are more budget minded, why not stand on the oldest bridge of
Paris, le Pont Neuf, which crosses the island, and watch the world go by?
In the distance gaze upon the Eiffel Tower and the skyline of Paris. It is
a spectacular sight at sunset when the buildings take on a golden tone.
As you stand there, you can imagine that this island is your ship
and that you are sailing to adventure in command of the bridge.
If you want to be closer to the river, descend to the wooded triangular
area which jets out into the river. You could spend hours watching the
river traffic pass.
I would like to add to your dreaming by telling you a bit of the history of
this bridge. The gallant statue of the handsome man behind you astride his
horse is the great king, Henri IV. It is fitting that he reign over the
bridge and the island since his life was intertwined with the bridge.
Henri IV, referred to as "Le Vert Galant" or the "Gay Blade" inaugurated the
bridge in 1607. Every portrait I have seen of him betrays a sly smile since
he was a great deal maker as well as lover.
Henri, a prince, was not in line for the throne. Since there was no direct
heir to the throne, one had to be found. This was at the time of religious
massacres, Catholic versus Protestant, and Henri, an avowed Calvinist,
had a rapid and miraculous conversion to Catholicism, in order to ascend
the throne since only a Catholic could be king.
He quipped that Paris vaut bien une messe or "Paris is well worth a Mass"
so king he became. He ended the religious strife by granting religious
expression to the Protestants with the signing of the Edict of Nantes.
Peace was restored which left Henri with a lot of time for politics and
love.
He first married Marguerite de Valois, the infamous Queen Margot. She was
as flirtatious and unfaithful as he, so in time a divorce followed. Henri
then married Marie de Medici, a good dynastic match for him.
The stories of his myriad love affairs with countless women leave us to
believe that he was the classic gallic romantic.
To tarnish his love laurels a bit, I must add that he abhorred water, only
lightly touching his hands to a finger bowl in the morning to satisfy the
ritual. His mistresses as well as his two wives complained that he smelled
like dead meat despite the heavy doses of perfume he thought would offset
his natural scent.
It is no accident then that his widow thought the statue best in the fresh
air of Paris The one you can see today is second in the series; the
original was destroyed, as was any vestige of royal presence, by the
revolutionary mob and melted down for cannons. The second statue was set in
place in 1818.
I think it is interesting to imagine what the bridge was like in the
seventeenth and eighteenth century. It was the hot spot for merchants and
hawkers of wares, booksellers, teeth extractors and ladies of the night.
It was thought that one could meet anyone one knew there if one waited a
bit since le Pont Neuf was the crossroads of Paris.
Innocent young men were lured into military duty by the promise of fine
food and a bit too much wine by recruiters paid ten crown a head for their
prey.
Police would lay in wait for criminals for days if they did not pinch them
there, they knew that they had escaped far away.
What better stage for budding playwrights than the Pont Neuf to present
their new productions.
The young Moliere, France's greatest writer of comedies, would spend hours
watching the plays of Tabarin who would mock doctors and lawyers( I know
it sounds absurd). It is thought that from there the seeds were sown in
Moliere's mind which sprouted such masterpieces of farce as Les Fouberies
de Scapin and Le Malade Imaginaire.
While singers,and jugglers entertained the assembled crowds, pick pockets
would deftly cut the purses from the belts of the onlookers to make their
fortune.
Today, the carnival mood has moved to the Beaubourg quartier where street
performers and pickpockets abound which leaves us a more tranquil yet always
beautiful bridge to perch upon.
We can remember now the Paris of old or concentrate on the present capital
or muse of future adventures as we stand on the bridge as so many have done
in the past in awe and delight.
Jackie Donnelly, earned her B.A. in French from Connecticut
College and her Master's Degree in French language and
literature from Boston University. Ms. Donnelly has taught
French at the high school and university level for over 25 years.
and is an 18 time visitor to France, and describes herself as
100% American but sentimentally 100% French. She was
recently awarded the Palmes Academiques by the French
Minister of Education. Currently she is serving as chair of a
committee on the National Task Force of the American Association of Teachers of
French.
She can be contacted via this link.
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