The Seine as Witness

If rivers could speak, the Seine would have the most dramatic stories to tell. It has reflected the flames of Viking raids, carried the bodies of St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre victims, and seen the heads of revolutionaries displayed on the Pont Neuf. During the Paris Commune of 1871, the river ran red with blood. In World War II, Resistance fighters used the sewers connecting to the Seine to move through occupied Paris.

But the river has witnessed joy as well as sorrow. The Seine has been the backdrop for countless celebrations—from medieval festivals to the Liberation of Paris, from World Cup victories to the annual July 14th fireworks. The river doesn't discriminate between triumph and tragedy; it simply flows on, carrying all of human experience in its current.