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25-509: The bridge was built in 1899–1902 by the architects Daydé & Pillé of Paris, and opened in 1903. Before North Vietnam's independence in 1954, it was called Paul-Doumer Bridge , named after Paul Doumer – the governor-general of French Indochina and then French president. At 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) in length, it was, at that time, one of the longest bridges in Asia. For the French colonial government,

50-485: A Russian émigré. Two of the shots hit Doumer, at the base of the skull and in the right armpit, and he fell to the ground. Claude Farrère wrestled with the assassin before the police arrived. Doumer was rushed to the hospital in Paris, where he died at 04:37 on 7 May. He is the only French president to die of a gunshot wound (although president Sadi Carnot  had been assassinated by being stabbed 38 years before). Gorguloff

75-422: A duel between Floquet and Boulanger in which the latter was wounded. In the following February, the government fell on the question of revision, and in the new chamber of November, Floquet was re-elected to the presidential chair. The Panama scandals , in which he was compelled to admit his implication, destroyed his career: he lost the presidency of the chamber in 1892, and his seat in the house in 1893, but in 1894

100-713: A professor of mathematics at Mende in 1877. In 1878 Doumer married Blanche Richel , whom he had met at college. They had eight children, four of whom were killed in the First World War (including the French air ace René Doumer ). From 1879 until 1883 Doumer was professor at Remiremont , before leaving on health grounds. He then became chief editor of Courrier de l'Aisne , a French regional newspaper. Initiated into Freemasonry in 1879, at "L'Union Fraternelle" lodge, he became Grand Secretary of Grand Orient de France in 1892. He made his debut in politics in 1885 as chef de cabinet to Charles Floquet , then president of

125-561: A scathing indictment of the Empire at the trial of Pierre Bonaparte for killing Victor Noir in 1870, and took a part in the revolution of 4 September as well as in the subsequent defence of Paris. There is controversy regarding an episode that took place at the Palais de Justice in June 1867 when Russian Emperor Alexander II had visited the institution in Paris. Many insist that Charles Floquet said to

150-516: A source of profitable investment by French businessmen. Doumer set about outfitting Indochina, especially Hanoi , the capital, with modern infrastructure befitting property of France. Tree-lined avenues and a large number of French colonial buildings were constructed in Hanoi during his governance. The Long Bien Bridge and the Grand Palais in Hanoi were among large-scale projects built during his term;

175-618: Is the son of Pierre Charlemagne Floquet and Marie Léocadie Etcheverry, daughter of Thomas Etcheverry, Deputy Mayor of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry , and Marthe Harismendy. In 1869 he married Hortense Kestner, born 31 may 1840 in Thann (Haut-Rhin), died in 1913 in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), daughter of Charles Kestner , chemist, industrialist and politician. He studied law in Paris , and was called to

200-503: The Chamber of Deputies (a post equivalent to the speaker of the House of Commons). In 1888, Doumer was elected Radical deputy for the department of Aisne . Defeated in the general elections of September 1889, he was elected again in 1890 by the arrondissement of Auxerre . He was briefly Minister of Finance of France (1895–1896) when he tried without success to introduce an income tax. Doumer

225-514: The Ligue d’union républicaine des droits de Paris to attempt a reconciliation with the government of Versailles. When his efforts failed, he left Paris and was imprisoned by order of Thiers , but soon released. He became editor of the Republique Française , was chosen president of the municipal council, and in 1876 was elected deputy for the eleventh arrondissement. He took a prominent place among

250-789: The President of France from June 1931 until his assassination in May 1932. He is described as "the Father of French Indochina," and was seen as one of the most active and effective governors general of Indochina. Joseph Athanase Doumer was born in Aurillac , in the Cantal département , in France on 22 March 1857, into a family of modest means. Alumnus of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers , he became

275-583: The French Senate from 1927 until the 1931 presidential election . He was elected President of the French Republic on 13 May 1931, defeating the better known Aristide Briand , and replacing Gaston Doumergue . On 6 May 1932, Paul Doumer was in Paris at the opening of a book fair at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild , talking to author Claude Farrère . Suddenly several shots were fired by Paul Gorguloff ,

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300-403: The French government is currently in progress to restore the bridge to its original appearance. Today trains, mopeds, bicycles and pedestrians use the dilapidated bridge, while all other traffic is diverted to the nearby Chương Dương Bridge and some other bridges: Thanh Trì Bridge , Thăng Long Bridge , Vĩnh Tuy Bridge , and Nhật Tân Bridge . Under the bridge, poor families live in boats on

325-470: The Red River, coming from many rural areas of Vietnam. 21°2′36″N 105°51′32″E  /  21.04333°N 105.85889°E  / 21.04333; 105.85889  ( Long Biên Bridge ) Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Doumer , commonly known as Paul Doumer ( French pronunciation: [pɔl dumɛːʀ] ; 22 March 1857 – 7 May 1932), was a French politician who served as

350-720: The Tzar: "Vive la Pologne, Monsieur!", which was an extremely impolite way of addressing a monarch. As Charles Floquet said himself, he had only said "Vive la Pologne!", and when the Tzar turned his head, Maurice Joly , a fellow lawyer of the Paris Bar, had said: "Oui, Vive la Pologne, monsieur!" In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly by the département of the Seine. During the Commune, he formed

375-449: The bar in 1851. The coup d'état of that year aroused the strenuous opposition of Floquet, who had, while yet a student, given proof of his republican sympathies by taking part in the fighting of 1848. He made his name by his brilliant and fearless attacks on the government in a series of political trials, and at the same time contributed to the Temps and other influential journals. He delivered

400-412: The body while he lay in state at the Élysée . As an author he is known by his L'Indo-Chine française (1904), and Le Livre de mes fils (1906). Charles Floquet Charles Thomas Floquet ( French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl tɔma flɔkɛ] ; 2 October 1828 – 18 January 1896) was a French lawyer and statesman. He was born at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port ( Basses-Pyrénées ). Charles Floquet

425-493: The bridge had been destroyed by laser-guided bombs (LGB). On 9 August the USAF announced that another LGB attack had disabled the newly repaired bridge. On 11 September the USAF attacked the bridge again as repairs were nearing completion. Some parts of the original structure remain intact, while large sections have been built later to repair the holes. Only half the bridge retains its original shape. A project with support and loan from

450-545: The bridge was originally named after him. The palace was destroyed by airstrikes toward the end of World War II. The bridge survived, and became a well-known landmark and target for US pilots during the Vietnam War . With a view to annexing south Yunnan to French Indochina, Doumer successfully lobbied the French government to approve construction of the Indochina-Yunnan railway in 1898. After returning to France, Doumer

475-408: The construction was of strategic importance in securing control of northern Vietnam. From 1899 to 1902, more than 3,000 Vietnamese took part in the construction. It was heavily bombed during Vietnam War due to its critical position (the only bridge at that time across the Red River connecting Hanoi to the main port of Haiphong ). The first attack took place in 1967, and the center span of the bridge

500-503: The extreme radicals, and became president of the group of the " Union républicaine ." In 1882 he held for a short time the post of prefect of the Seine . In 1885 he succeeded Henri Brisson as president of the chamber. This difficult position he filled with such tact and impartiality that he was re-elected the two following years. Having approached the Russian ambassador in such a way as to remove

525-522: The prejudice existing against him in Russia since the incident of 1867, he rendered himself eligible for office; and on the fall of the Tirard cabinet in 1888 he became president of the council and minister of the interior in a radical ministry, which pledged itself to the revision of the constitution, but was forced to combat the proposals of General Boulanger . Heated debates in the chamber culminated on 13 July in

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550-431: Was Governor-General of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902. Upon his arrival the colonies were losing millions of francs annually. Determined to put them on a paying basis, he levied taxes on opium , wine and the salt trade. The Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians who could not or would not pay these taxes, lost their houses and land, and often became day laborers. He established Indochina as a market for French products and

575-465: Was elected by Laon to the Chamber of Deputies as a Radical . He refused to support the ministry of Émile Combes , and formed a Radical dissident group, which grew in strength and eventually caused the fall of the ministry. He then served as President of the Chamber from 1902 to 1905. Doumer became Minister of Finance of France again in 1925 when Louis Loucheur resigned. He then served as President of

600-489: Was felled by an attack by 20 United States Air Force (USAF) F-105 fighter-bombers on 11 August. CIA reports noted that the severing of the bridge did not appear to have caused as much disruption as had been expected. On 10 May 1972 the bridge was attacked in the first Operation Linebacker attacks in response to the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive . On 13 May the USAF announced that several spans of

625-498: Was indicted for murder and executed by the guillotine four months later, after a swift trial. André Maurois was an eyewitness to the assassination, having come to the book fair to autograph copies of his book. He later described the scene in his autobiography, Call No Man Happy . As Maurois notes, because the President was assassinated at a meeting of writers, it was decided that writers - Maurois among them - should stand guard over

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