Marne (river)

The Marne river here in Charenton-le-Pont flows past the Carrières district, named for the stone quarries that supplied materials for Paris buildings for centuries. Workers harvested limestone from the riverbanks, loading heavy blocks onto barges destined for the capital. In nineteen ten, the river surged beyond these banks in a historic flood, leaving the neighborhood submerged under meters of water for days. Today, the river remains a boundary, separating the suburban quiet from the dense urban spread of the city center.