Seine River Steamers The Élise was the first steam ship to cross the English Channel. She was bought in England 1814 by Pierre Andriel as" Margery", and renamed "Élise". Andriel intended to accomplish a spectacular crossing of the Channel to convince public opinion that steam ships could be ocean-worthy. She sailed up the Seine and arrived in Paris on 28 March, becoming a popular sensation. Two small saluting guns were mounted at the bow and fired in honour of Louis XVIII Early tugs used chains in the river to tow trains of barges up river. The low steam pressure and low power of
Seine bodies were retrieved from its waters; in February 2008, the body of supermodel-turned-activist Katoucha Niane was found there. The Seine was the river that Javert, the primary antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel "Les Misérables" drowned himself in. During the 19th and the 20th centuries in particular the Seine inspired many artists, including: A song 'La Seine' by Flavien Monod and Guy Lafarge was written in 1948. Josephine Baker recorded a song 'La Seine' A song 'La seine' by Vanessa Paradis feat. Matthieu Chedid was originally written as a soundtrack for the movie 'A Monster in Paris' Seine The Seine