Parisians have all read or heard of the Phantom of the Opera, the Sewer Crocodile, the Cursed House of the rue de Bièvre celebrated in its time by the whimsical Jacques Yonnet. But what about all these legends that have at least a kernel of truth?
Take for example a passage from the book concerning the superb royal and equestrian statue of Henri IV which gallops since 1818 on the Pont Neuf. The founder Balthazar Ménel, a faithful of Napoleon Premier, disappointed to have melted down an old bronze statue of Napoleon to make that of the good King Henri IV would have hidden in the body of the horse anti-royalist pamphlets and even a statuette of Napoleon at the interior of the head of Henri IV.
In 2004, during a complete repair of the statue, we would finally know the truth. The Minister of Culture himself, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres is seizing the case. Indeed metal boxes are well caulked inside of the statue of Henri IV but what are they hiding? The historian Chantal Prévot finally tells us the truth.
We will still have to wait a long time to find out “what is the color of Henri IV’s white horse” and what is the mystery of the equestrian statue of the Pont Neuf. To wait, immerse yourself in Chantal Prévot’s fascinating book“Mysteries of Paris”, published by CERF.