The Dark Side of the Eiffel Tower

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On several occasions, I have come across rather contrived photos showing the “other side of the Eiffel Tower” and looking something like the above, with the dark implication that there are massive slums or heavy industrial zones barely hidden from tourists within a stone’s throw of this famous landmark. I vowed to myself that one day I would debunk this nonsense. The fact is, there are no slums or toxic-waste dumps anywhere near the Eiffel Tower; it is in a very nice part of Paris—and given that even the not-so-nice parts of Paris still contain no slum areas, obviously the entire area anywhere near the Eiffel Tower is pretty neat and clean. However, those who wish to create a different impression may have been tempted to resort to a photo such as the one I show here. I include the photo to show how images can easily be chosen to mislead.

This photo shows line C of the Regional Express Network (RER), part of the Paris subway system, as it follows the left bank of the Seine northeast towards the center of the city (that is, away from the camera). Line C is underground on most of its path through Paris, but as it approaches the city limits to the southwest, it moves into the open air, although the right-of-way remains sunken so as not to be visible from anywhere outside the subway line. I took this photo from a pedestrian overpass above the right-of-way just east of the Javel station of the RER, so you can see the tracks—but remember that the subway line is invisible outside this station, because it is well below street level.

On the right, you can see buildings (part of the Front de Seine district) and a bit of the street (the quai André Citroën) at its normal level, and on the left you can see trees and an access road along the bank of the Seine river. Since the RER line follows the bank of the Seine (passing right in front of the Eiffel Tower, although it is completely hidden underground at that point), this photo gives the impression that the tower is near some sort of industrial zone. In fact, the RER line drops underground off in the distance, beyond this station, and is quite invisible as you approach the area of the tower. (The Eiffel Tower is about 1500 metres away from the point where this picture was taken).

So, if you see a photo like this sometime in a book or elsewhere, be wary of the impression that it creates. Things are not always as they seem.

Incidentally, this RER line is the one you take to get from Paris to Versailles, which takes about half an hour. Versailles is behind the camera (that is, southwest of this point) and about 17 km or so away.

Photographed on September 30, 1999.