Passerelle Marcelle-Henry

In 2017, a steel ribbon began to unfurl across the railway lines of Gare Saint-Lazare. This is the Passerelle Marcelle-Henry. It gracefully connects Rue Marie-Georges-Picquart to Place Marcelle-Henry and Rue Mstislav-Rostropovitch. The Passerelle Marcelle-Henry wasn’t ready for its Parisian debut until mid-2019. Finishing touches, like precisely cut paving stones to channel rainwater, caused unexpected delays. This elegant walkway, designed by Marc Mimram, cost the city nearly 7 million euros. Mimram also designed the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor. He envisioned the Passerelle Marcelle-Henry as a space for pedestrians to inhabit. He wanted them to enjoy distant views of the transforming urban landscape. The bridge is named after Marcelle Henry, a French Resistance member during World War II. She worked tirelessly against the Nazi occupation, distributing leaflets and sheltering refugees. She also used her position at the Ministry of Labor to shield her colleagues’ clandestine activities. Sadly, she was arrested in 1944 and deported to Ravensbrück. She was later transferred to Torgau, a subcamp of Buchenwald. There she reportedly refused to work for the German war effort, enduring further hardship. Though liberated in April 1945, she tragically succumbed to the effects of her imprisonment shortly after returning to Paris. In 2019, the Passerelle Marcelle-Henry received the Eiffel Architecture Steel Award in the “Bridging” category. Its curved arches and transparent metal sides offer a unique dialogue with the railway lines below. This pedestrian bridge, dedicated to a courageous woman, is a testament to resilience and a beautiful addition to the Parisian cityscape. So next time you cross the Passerelle Marcelle-Henry, take a moment to appreciate its design and remember the woman whose name it bears.