The Seine has experienced numerous floods throughout its history, some of which were triggered by notably severe cold snaps that caused the river to freeze over! In 1868, the water level only rose by 50 centimeters, but by 1880, it had increased by an additional 1.5 meters—an extraordinary event that even caused the second arch of the Invalides Bridge to collapse. Today, such events are much rarer, although a more recent episode occurred in 1956.
To see the frozen Seine, temperatures needed to drop to at least -10 degrees Celsius for a minimum of three days. However, this also depended on the river’s water level, as freezing over takes time—especially during flooding. It's quite rare for the entire river to freeze solid; usually, only certain sections would be covered in ice. Parisian archives record a particularly long spell of ice in 1783, lasting nearly two full months, and another in 1655! When the Seine is coated with ice, people could sometimes walk across it, though it was still risky—since the ice was rarely thick enough to support pedestrians. More commonly, the river transported ice blocks and carried ice from the capital downstream.
The year 1956 marks the last major freeze of the Seine, during a particularly harsh winter. While the river has not frozen over in Paris since then, it did become trapped in ice in 2006 in Seine-et-Marne, near Ponthierry. Thanks to climate change, such episodes are now rare — whereas in the 19th century, they occurred roughly every 15 years. And though the recent cold snap at the start of 2026 has certainly chilled spirits, it wasn’t enough to freeze the Seine! Fortunately, INA archives offer a glimpse into what Parisians experienced during those frosty times!
