The Passerelle Debilly (, ) is a

through arch bridge A through arch bridge, also known as a through-type arch bridge, is a bridge that is made from materials such as steel or reinforced concrete, in which the base of an arch structure is below the deck but the top rises above it. It can either be lo ...

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 ...

spanning the

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 plat ...

. It is a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

that connects the ''quai de New York'' to the ''quai Branly'', close to the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

History

In order to accommodate visitor traffic to the 1900

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

across the

, the General Commissioner of the Exposition, Alfred Picard, approved the construction of a provisional footbridge opposite the Avenue Albert de Mun, to join the Army and Navy Halls to the exhibit recreating old Paris. Its architect, Jean Résal, also designed the

Pont Alexandre III The Pont Alexandre III () is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the ...

and the Viaduc d'Austerlitz. The Debilly footbridge had, as well, a succession of provisional names. It was initially called ''passerelle de l'Exposition Militaire'' or ''passerelle de Magdebourg'', only later ''passerelle Debilly'', after General Jean Louis Debilly of the

French First Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

who was killed in the

Battle of Jena A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1806. The bridge became a permanent fixture from its original provisional status under the management of the City of Paris in 1906 after it was relocated opposite to the ''rue de la Manutention''. The footbridge is built on a metallic framework resting on two

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

at the riverbanks, and decorated with dark green ceramic tiles arranged in a fashion that suggests the impression of waves. Along with the

, this is the second metallic structure that stands as an attestation to the engineering achievements of its epoch. Nevertheless, in 1941, the Debilly footbridge was threatened with disappearance when the president of the architectural society characterized it as ''a forgotten accessory of a past event''. As a contemporary of the

and the Austerlitz Viaduct, the Passerelle Debilly was eventually included in the supplementary registry of historical monuments in 1966. The bridge was repainted in 1991 and its cladding resurfaced with hard tropical wood in 1997.

German diplomat

In 1989, a German diplomat working for the Secret Service of the

Democratic Republic of Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

was found dead on this footbridge, several days after the Fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. As it turned out, the footbridge was used as a secret gathering place for the secret service agents of East Germany during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. It is certainly one of the reasons that pushed

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...

to shoot a scene of his thriller ''

Femme Fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

'' on that footbridge in 2002.

Access

Gallery

File:Paris Eiffel Tower viewed from Passerelle Debilly.jpg,

viewed from Passerelle Debilly File:Passerelle Debilly from Iena.JPG, Passerelle Debilly from Iena File:Passerelle Debilly in Paris 001.JPG, The interior of Passerelle Debilly File:Passerelle Debilly.jpg, Passerelle Debilly at night File:Passerelle Debilly October 2009.jpg, Debilly Footbridge from Eiffel Tower File:P1030759 Paris XVI port Debilly-passerelle Debilly tour Eiffel.JPG, From Port Debilly.

External links

Bridge History

Technical Specifications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debilly Bridges over the River Seine in Paris Pedestrian bridges in France Bridges completed in 1900 Through arch bridges in France