“
Under the Mirabeau bridge flows the Seine
”... This famous verse by the poet Guillaume Apollinaire contains a geographical error.
Because, contrary to what one thinks, it is not the Seine which flows in Paris... but the Yonne!
How to explain this "misunderstanding" that has spanned the centuries?
The answer is to be found 80 km south of the capital.
It is in the commune of Montereau-Fault-Yonne (Seine-et-Marne) that the two rivers meet.
But it is the Yonne which brings the most water, with a flow of 93 m3 per second, against 80 m3 for the Seine.
According to hydrographic rules, it is therefore the Seine which flows into the Yonne.
Read alsoLeaving for the weekend in Deauville without traffic jams: we tested “La Seine à Vélo”
Second longest river in France
Why has the name “Seine” persisted?
“
The Seine was considered sacred by druids and therefore decreed superior to the others, then the Sequana (Seine) river was elevated to the rank of divinity by the Romans.
For those who controlled it, imposing the Seine was a way of establishing their power
”, explains Yves Boquet, geographer, in the newspaper
L'Yonne republicaine
.
Elsewhere in the world, several rivers bear a name that they do not yet deserve, always because of hydrographic rules.
In the United States, this is the case of Mississippi, which should be called Ohio.
In Europe, the Danube steals the show from the Inn, while the Rhine should have been called the “Aare”.
The longest river in France after the Loire (1006 km), the Seine (775 km) has its source in the Langres plateau, in the aptly named town of Source-Seine (Côte-d'Or), and flows into the Channel, between Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) and Honfleur (Calvados).
Places of interest bordering it include Claude Monet's House at Giverny, the city of Rouen and the picturesque villages of La Roche-Guyon and Caudebec-en-Caux.
Besides river cruises, the best way to discover it is by bicycle.
The Seine by bike route connects the capital to Le Havre (or Deauville, depending on the bank taken) over 420 km.
Right there where is the mouth of the Seine – well... of the Yonne!