CONCORDE, PONT DE LA

(French: Bridge of Concord), stone-arch bridge crossing the Seine River in Paris at the Place de la Concorde. The masterpiece of Jean-Rodolphe Perronet, conceived in 1772, the bridge was not begun until 1787 because conservative officials found the design too daring. Perronet personally supervised construction despite his advanced age; he was 82 when the work was completed in 1791. The outbreak of the French Revolution scarcely affected progress; Perronet used the demolished Bastille as a source for masonry. The name of the bridge has been changed from Louis XV to Rvolution to Concorde.