The Pont Alexandre III (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ alɛksɑ̃dʁ tʁwa]) is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. It has been classified as a French monument historique since 1975.
The Seine (/seɪn, sɛn/ sayn, sen, French: [sɛn] ) is a 777-kilometre-long (483 mi) river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre (and Honfleur on the left bank). It is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the sea. Over 60 percent of its length, as far as Burgundy, is negotiable by large barges and most tour boats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating; excursion boats offer sightseeing tours of the river banks in the capital city, Paris.
There are 37 bridges in Paris across the Seine (the most famous of which are the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont Neuf) and dozens more outside the city.
The Franco-Russian Alliance (French: Alliance Franco-Russe, Russian: Франко-Русский Альянс, romanized: Franko-Russkiy Al'yans), also known as the Dual Entente or Russo-French Rapprochement (Rapprochement Franco-Russe, Русско-Французское Сближение; Russko-Frantsuzskoye Sblizheniye), was an alliance formed by the agreements of 1891–94; it lasted until 1917. The strengthening of the German Empire, the creation of the Triple Alliance of 1882, and the exacerbation of Franco-German and Russo-German tensions at the end of the 1880s led to a common foreign policy and mutual strategic military interests between France and Russia. The development of financial ties between the two countries created the economic prerequisites for the Russo-French Alliance.
The swimming competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were held from 27 July to 9 August 2024. There were 35 swimming events in the pool and two marathon swimming events in the open water. The pool events took place from 27 July to 4 August at the Paris La Défense Arena, and the marathon swimming events took place from 8 to 9 August between Pont Alexandre III and Pont de l'Alma in the Seine river.
France's Léon Marchand won all four individual events he entered at the Games. Four world records were broken, by: Pan Zhanle in the men's 100 m freestyle, Bobby Finke in the men's 1500 metre freestyle, and team United States in the women's 4 × 100 metre medley and mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relays. Some slower than expected performances contributed to media speculation that the Paris 2024 pool was slow.
The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃ palɛ de ʃɑ̃z‿elize]; English: Great Palace of the Champs-Élysées), commonly known as the Grand Palais, is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, France on Avenue Winston-Churchill. Construction of the Grand Palais began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l'Industrie (Palace of Industry) to prepare for the Universal Exposition of 1900. That exposition also produced the adjacent Petit Palais and Pont Alexandre III.
The building was designed to be a large-scale venue for official artistic events. A pediment on the building refers to this function with an inscription that reads, "a monument dedicated by the Republic to the glory of French art." Designed according to Beaux-Arts tastes, the building features ornate stone facades, glass vaults and period innovations that included iron and light steel framing and reinforced concrete.