The Zouave, Artilleryman, Grenadier and Chasseur à Pied of the Pont de l’Alma
Sculpted by Georges Diebolt in 1856 out of the typical Parisian limestone, these four statues represent four of the various corps of French soldiers who fought in 1854 at the battle of Alma – the first of the Crimean War – along with British, Ottoman and Piedmontese troop against the Russian Empire. In 1974 the bridge was rebuilt and only the zouave remains to this day, towering from his five meters in height over the Seine river in the heart of Paris. Being this close to the water, he became a popular referent point for floods in the capital ; example below, the zouave of the Alma bridge standing knee deep in the water due to the recent shitty weather.
Notice his Minié rifle, a Mle 1853 T car exclusive to the Zouave of the French army as a show of not getting overtech’d by these damn britbongs and their fancy Enfield P1853.
