Statue de Jean-Rodolphe Perronet

You are looking at a memorial to Jean-Rodolphe Perronet, a man who fundamentally changed how bridges were built in the eighteenth century. Perronet served as the first director of the world's first engineering school, the École des Ponts et Chaussées, and spent his career proving that stone arch bridges could be both incredibly strong and visually light. By using low, elliptical arches and thinning the support piers, he allowed river water to flow more freely while creating structures that appeared to barely touch the water. He personally directed the construction of the original stone bridge here in Neuilly, which stood for over one hundred and seventy years as a masterpiece of his design. The statue you see is a later tribute to this legacy, capturing the vision of an engineer who shifted bridge design toward the elegant, structural efficiency we recognize today.