1 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,260 HORNS HONK 2 00:00:05,260 --> 00:00:10,600 A majestic presence has towered over Paris for more than 130 years. 3 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,500 A symbol of progress and of breaking boundaries, 4 00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:24,360 France's "Iron Lady" is a global icon. 5 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:31,520 In 1889, Gustave Eiffel achieved the impossible. 6 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:35,960 The dream of every engineer - 7 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,800 to build the tallest tower in the world. 8 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:49,200 In the heart of Paris, he raised this 7,300-tonne iron colossus 9 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,480 in just two years, two months and five days. 10 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,640 But this tower could not have existed 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,560 without the engineering innovations of the three preceding decades 12 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,720 and Gustave Eiffel's other work, found all over the world. 13 00:01:05,320 --> 00:01:09,040 From the bridges of Vietnam to the sweeping Garabit viaduct, 14 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,120 Bordeaux's rivers, to the secrets of New York's Statue of Liberty, 15 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,640 the Eiffel Tower is the crowning glory of a life spent 16 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,800 pushing back limits. 17 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,000 What challenges - both human and technical - 18 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:26,160 did Eiffel and his engineers face with such a massive project? 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,400 And how did his scientific research help Eiffel 20 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,480 save the tower from destruction? 21 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,600 This is the epic story of France's Iron Lady. 22 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,840 WIND WHISTLES 23 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:55,400 On the 31st of March 1889, Gustave Eiffel refused to allow 24 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,160 anyone else to unfurl the French flag at the top of his tower. 25 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,080 Aged nearly 60, 26 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,560 he faced the ever-changing winds of an icy winter 27 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,000 to mark the completion of his greatest masterpiece, 28 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,840 300m over Paris. 29 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:28,880 The Eiffel Tower was born out of the Industrial Revolution, 30 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,520 the age of iron and coal. 31 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,560 The plentiful supply of coal in Great Britain, 32 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,600 where everything started at the end of the 18th century, 33 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,000 changed the world - 34 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,560 along with revolutionary inventions like the steam engine, 35 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,840 the railway and the steel industry. 36 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,480 One foundation technology of the Industrial Revolution was 37 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,840 a type of wrought iron called puddled iron. 38 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,680 Strong yet flexible, it was obtained by melting iron ore 39 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,280 and introducing oxygen until it was decarbonised. 40 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,600 In the 1850s, the production of puddled iron boomed 41 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,280 with the mechanisation of the blast furnace. 42 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,400 In France, a flurry of forges 43 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,720 and metal construction companies emerged. 44 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,040 One of these firms was founded in 1864 45 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,960 by the 32-year-old engineer Gustave Eiffel. 46 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,480 TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH: 47 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,560 Since the beginning of the 19th century, 48 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,080 architects had dreamed of exceeding the Gothic cathedrals 49 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,480 and the Egyptian pyramids. 50 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,480 Two projects for 300m-high towers had emerged in England 51 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,960 and the United States, but neither was completed. 52 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,280 Two prominent engineers from the Eiffel company, 53 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:24,520 Emile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin, 54 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,280 were also tempted by the idea of building a 300m tower. 55 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,320 But how to go about it? 56 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,360 Using the hallmark iron construction techniques of the Eiffel company, 57 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,120 Koechlin and Nouguier came up with a pylon design. 58 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,640 Eiffel was not impressed. 59 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,120 For art historian Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby, 60 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,680 the yearning for the gigantic fits the historical context 61 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:58,480 of the 19th century. 62 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,480 - Rise of capitalism, rise of empire, 63 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:07,680 rise of nationalist rivalries, all of that feeds 64 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:12,480 the kind of competition to prove one's modernity, 65 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:19,760 efficiency, capacity, um, to astonish people 66 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,800 with the surprises of things like the Eiffel Tour. 67 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,760 - It was the in-house architect, Stephen Sauvestre, 68 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,680 who won Eiffel over to the project, 69 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,760 gracing the pylon with decorative arches 70 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,480 and adding platforms to welcome the public. 71 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:44,360 He transformed the unattractive pylon into an elegant monument. 72 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,480 Eiffel saw that a revolutionary tower could be the main attraction 73 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,640 of the 1889 World's Fair in Paris 74 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,200 and committed himself to the project. 75 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,920 A fabulous 300m iron tower, 76 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,280 from which people could admire the city of Paris. 77 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,320 The Eiffel Tower project was born. 78 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,760 The tower would be higher than Notre Dame, the pyramids of Egypt 79 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,840 and almost twice as high as the Washington Monument, 80 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:25,240 which held the world record at 169m. 81 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,760 Many feared that, at 300m, 82 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:30,920 the wind would be destructive. 83 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:32,760 How would the engineers ensure 84 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,520 that their tower could withstand high winds? 85 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,200 Gustave Eiffel built this facility in Paris 86 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:43,960 towards the end of his life - 87 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,240 an aerodynamics laboratory, which is still in use. 88 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,680 This is where Benoit Roman, an expert in structural mechanics, 89 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,880 is comparing the effect of wind on models of the Eiffel Tower 90 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,240 and a tower with straight sides. 91 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,280 WHIRRING 92 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,680 Why is the Eiffel Tower model much better at resisting wind 93 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,440 than the other model? 94 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,080 One of Eiffel's most impressive earlier achievements is 95 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:07,160 this magnificent railway bridge in Auvergne, in central France. 96 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,800 The Garabit viaduct was opened in 1884, 97 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,680 just as the project for the Eiffel Tower was being conceived. 98 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,120 Standing 120m above the Truyere river, 99 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,120 it connects the two sides of the valley with a parabolic arch 100 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:30,920 of unprecedented length... 101 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,040 ..165m - a record for the time. 102 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:43,400 Patricia Vergne Roches is an expert in the history of the bridge. 103 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:48,240 The metallic structure is a fabulous weblike arrangement of iron beams. 104 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:05,920 For Eiffel and his engineers, 105 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,840 every bridge was a chance to introduce technical improvements. 106 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:12,840 A parabolic shape would be better able 107 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,680 to resist the forces produced by heavy trains. 108 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,560 The organisational expertise needed on site testifies 109 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:24,760 to the technical know-how and talent of Eiffel's company. 110 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,080 The perfectly mastered completion of this civil engineering work, 111 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,320 to worldwide admiration, 112 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,680 was key to the success of the 300m tower project. 113 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,240 With the Garabit viaduct works behind them, 114 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,240 the Eiffel team could now focus 115 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,440 on building the highest monument in the world. 116 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:51,240 In June 1884, Eiffel, Koechlin, Nouguier 117 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:55,560 and Sauvestre exhibited a model at the Decorative Arts Exhibition. 118 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:06,440 Building a needle in the heart of Paris caught the imagination 119 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,640 of the French Minister of Trade, Edouard Lockroy, 120 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,000 who was looking for a revolutionary idea 121 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,080 to boost the forthcoming World's Fair in 1889. 122 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,920 What better choice than a record-breaking monument? 123 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:47,320 The publicity for Paris 124 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,600 and the very young Third Republic would be global. 125 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,680 The 300m tower would be topped by a beacon... 126 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,000 ..like another monument intended to enlighten the world, 127 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,480 which also owes a lot to Eiffel's genius. 128 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,200 In 1879, Gustave Eiffel was involved 129 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,000 in the construction of a remarkable work, 130 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,360 Liberty Enlightening The World, which would later become 131 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,400 the Statue of Liberty. 132 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,160 The sculpture, by Auguste Bartholdi, 133 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,720 was a gift from the Republic of France to the American people 134 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,880 to mark the centenary of their independence. 135 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:43,560 The tallest statue in the world, at 92m, including its pedestal, 136 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:48,840 was another artistic and technical challenge on an unprecedented scale. 137 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:39,080 The statue and its structure crossed the Atlantic in 210 special crates. 138 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,440 Sited at the entrance of New York Harbor, 139 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,360 it would become an undisputed symbol of the city. 140 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,440 It is 6am. 141 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,760 Before opening to the 20,000 daily visitors, 142 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,360 ranger Matthew Housch climbs up into the heart of the statue. 143 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:10,280 This 162-step staircase gives an insight into Eiffel's structure. 144 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,560 The similarities with the tower are clear. 145 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:19,120 - What's most impressive about the interior of the Statue of Liberty 146 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:23,680 is how all of this iron and steel works together to hold 147 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,320 her over 300ft above New York Harbor. 148 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,320 Over 100 years of wind and rain, 149 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,320 she still stands because of this interior structure. 150 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:42,720 The inside of the Statue of Liberty can be a disorienting place, 151 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,760 but what you are seeing are hundreds of copper plates - 152 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:50,680 so that's the dark metal that you see all along the interior here - 153 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,400 that's her skin. 154 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,720 And those copper plates were all riveted together with 155 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,720 thousands of little copper rivets, 156 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,440 but the copper skin has to be held up, 157 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,280 so you can see there's thousands of steel bars 158 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,600 connect the copper plates to the secondary iron bars, 159 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,960 and all of those iron bars connect back here to these iron pylons. 160 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,200 - The iron structure designed by Eiffel's engineers accommodates 161 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,920 this staircase up to Miss Liberty's crown 162 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,400 and its unique view of New York. 163 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:33,200 - This view became popular over time 164 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,560 and, as visitors keep coming into the Statue of Liberty, 165 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,640 the Statue of Liberty becomes the Statue of Liberty. 166 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:43,000 She becomes an icon that represents not just New York City, 167 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,800 but the United States herself. 168 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,040 - Thanks to its impressive structure, 169 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,480 the Statue of Liberty has withstood the test of time. 170 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,280 Since its inauguration in 1886, 171 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,520 it has given New York a unique identity. 172 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,600 Its universal appeal reflected on Gustave Eiffel. 173 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:13,440 But, despite this resounding success, his project for the 300m 174 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,600 Paris tower had stalled 175 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,600 for lack of a firm government commitment. 176 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,560 Fortunately, Gustave Eiffel was a shrewd businessman, 177 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,080 winning orders in South America, Portugal, the Philippines, 178 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,880 and the French colonies of Indochina. 179 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,720 The Eiffel company could afford to wait out the bureaucratic delays 180 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:43,080 of the French government. 181 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,960 It is in Vietnam that Eiffel built the greatest number of structures. 182 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:54,360 The Pont Des Messageries in Ho Chi Minh City is well known. 183 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,080 But dozens of portable bridges, 184 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,400 exported by Eiffel to Vietnam, are now lost. 185 00:17:05,360 --> 00:17:08,840 The old city once boasted 100 of them. 186 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:35,440 The Vietnam War and rampant urbanisation 187 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,200 have probably destroyed most of Eiffel's portable bridges. 188 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,560 But after studying satellite images of the city, 189 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:47,040 Bertrand Lemoine is convinced that some of them might still be in use. 190 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,240 Another bridge of the same type has been spotted. 191 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,640 Back in Paris, Gustave Eiffel could count on the unfailing 192 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,600 support of the French Minister of Trade. 193 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,640 Edouard Lockroy had launched a competition, 194 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,680 inviting submissions for the 1889 World's Fair. 195 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,000 Among other projects, "Contestants shall study 196 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,360 "the possibility of erecting an iron tower on the Champ-de-Mars." 197 00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:18,200 It so happened that the specified dimensions were exactly those 198 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,600 of Eiffel's design. 199 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,480 Candidates only had 15 days to submit their designs. 200 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,560 After months of struggle, Eiffel had won. 201 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:55,200 He would have his tower and he would finance it himself. 202 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,480 At the company's headquarters in Levallois-Perret, 203 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:29,440 engineers and draughtsmen feverishly started work. 204 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,360 The World's Fair would open on 6th May 1889, 205 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:37,440 giving them two years and two months to build the tower. 206 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,240 The countdown had begun. 207 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,160 Every part of the tower was calculated 208 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,240 to one-tenth of a millimetre. 209 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,400 More than 5,000 drawings were produced by this office. 210 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,560 7,300 tonnes of iron were ordered 211 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,840 and, barely 20 days after the concession was signed, 212 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,760 on 27th January 1887, 213 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:10,360 the first earthworks began on the vast cleared expanse 214 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:12,200 of the Champ de Mars. 215 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:17,040 Using shovels and pickaxes, 216 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:22,960 400 workers laboured for nine hours a day to dig four huge holes. 217 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,600 Rubble was disposed of in wheelbarrows, 218 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,400 horse-drawn carts and minecarts. 219 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,720 The four legs of the tower had to be anchored deep in the ground. 220 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:37,000 31,000 cubic metres of earth, a volume equivalent 221 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,440 to ten Olympic-sized swimming pools, 222 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,240 were removed using rudimentary methods. 223 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,960 This stage of the works was essential to ensure 224 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,240 the stability of the tower. 225 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,480 The first problem came two weeks after work started. 226 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:25,400 Well-known artists published a petition against the Eiffel Tower 227 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:30,160 in the influential daily Le Temps, under editor Adrien Hebrard. 228 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,360 They protested against the erection 229 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:35,440 of "the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower". 230 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:54,600 Eiffel's counterattack was scathing and inspired. 231 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,160 "Because we are engineers, do people think that we are not preoccupied 232 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,480 "by beauty in our constructions 233 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,440 "and that, although we build them sturdy and durable, 234 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,840 "we do not also strive to make them elegant?" 235 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:12,960 On site, the works were under way. 236 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,720 The foundations on the banks of the Seine lay 7m 237 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,880 below river level, so could easily flood. 238 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,680 How would Eiffel overcome this obstacle? 239 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,200 He called on the know-how he'd acquired 240 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:40,200 30 years earlier in Bordeaux, when, as a young engineer 241 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,000 fresh out of the Ecole Centrale, an elite engineering school, 242 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,000 he led the construction of his first major iron structure, 243 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:54,280 a 504m-long railway viaduct linking the two banks of the River Garonne, 244 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,000 which is very wide at that point. 245 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,160 This impressive structure almost disappeared 246 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,160 when the modern bridge rendered it obsolete. 247 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,800 Gustave Eiffel's descendant, Myriam Larnaudie-Eiffel, 248 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,240 helped save this iron masterpiece. 249 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:22,880 SHE GASPS 250 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,160 It is the longest iron bridge ever built in France 251 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,320 and still makes the Eiffel family proud. 252 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,840 Eiffel's youthful leadership skills helped solve 253 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:17,720 this major technical challenge, 254 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,720 digging riverbed foundations for the six pairs of bridge piers. 255 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,160 How could anyone build such massive foundations 10m underwater? 256 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,400 But when the compressed air chambers were used 30 years later 257 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,080 to dig the tower's foundations near the Seine, 258 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:33,040 workers in the pressurised section experienced problems. 259 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,960 Press reports led to a public outcry and, once again, 260 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:04,000 Eiffel relied on Minister Lockroy to subdue this new protest. 261 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,880 He summoned the press to the construction site. 262 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,400 Work resumed immediately. 263 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:24,880 Soon, solid foundations were ready to support the metal structure. 264 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,360 The iron elements were cut, trimmed, adjusted 265 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:38,320 and drilled to the exact measurements set out in the plans. 266 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,760 Once on site, they had to fit together perfectly. 267 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,600 The Eiffel construction method made it possible to 268 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,920 build at an amazing pace. 269 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,880 Six months after the start of construction, 270 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:08,200 four 54-degree inclined pillars rose from the ground. 271 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:17,360 There were very few workers on site - barely 250 - 272 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,640 but they were very efficient. 273 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,880 Progress was impressive - the metallic structure rising fast 274 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:53,280 to the incessant beat of the riveters' hammers. 275 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,000 But how were the parts assembled on the building site? 276 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,960 In Gonesse, north of Paris, one business still employs 277 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:10,040 the efficient riveting assembly process used by the Eiffel company. 278 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:20,520 In this workshop, Eiffel-style beams are produced 279 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,080 to restore old structures. 280 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:23,360 - OK. 281 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:42,760 - MACHINE THUDS AND WHIRS 282 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,160 At the time of the tower's construction, 283 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:51,960 there were no pneumatic tools. 284 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:56,360 Riveting was carried out on site by teams of four workers. 285 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,400 The first makes the rivet white hot in a brazier. 286 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,600 The second positions it in the assembly hole. 287 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,480 The third holds the rivet head while the fourth hammers it in place. 288 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:25,240 As it cools, the rivet contracts, holding the parts firmly together. 289 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,240 A total of two and a half million rivets were set on the Eiffel Tower, 290 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:35,760 half of them on site, 291 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:39,800 sometimes in highly acrobatic and even dangerous conditions. 292 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,840 No lives were lost during the main construction phase of the project, 293 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,000 but one Italian worker, Angelo Scagliotti, 294 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,920 died after the tower's inauguration. 295 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,240 As the structure grew, so did the challenges. 296 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,520 How do you lift thousands of tonnes of iron 297 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:07,680 to heights of 100, 200 and then 300m? 298 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:09,680 Eiffel came up with a solution, 299 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:13,600 using mobile steam cranes in each of the tower's legs. 300 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:19,120 The greatest challenge facing the engineers was securing horizontal 301 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:24,200 beams to the four inclined legs to create a first floor platform. 302 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,440 The position of the four 700-tonne pillars 303 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,960 had to be millimetre perfect. 304 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,520 The tower was standing by itself. 305 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,440 They had done it. 306 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,440 To Eiffel's great relief, the complex operation was complete. 307 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,680 But January 1888 was a hard month. 308 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,480 Winter slowed down their progress and the second 309 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:13,840 and third levels were still to be built. 310 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:19,800 Another 250m were required to reach the magical 300m height. 311 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,800 With only 15 months left, time was running out. 312 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:33,080 That same year, another ambitious engineering project was 313 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,360 making headlines in Paris. 314 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,720 There was bad news from Panama, 315 00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:41,440 where French entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps was digging 316 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,640 a canal without locks to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 317 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:55,080 Disaster upon disaster had left it considerably behind schedule. 318 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,440 - The Panama Canal, organised by Lesseps, 319 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,520 who again I emphasise was not an engineer, 320 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:51,160 was such a failure and entailed 321 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,280 such loss of life, 322 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:54,720 and as people...you know, 323 00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:57,280 it entailed trying to cut through a mountain, 324 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:01,560 and that mountain kept having mudslides. 325 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:03,680 It was a disaster. 326 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:11,160 - Finally, and one billion gold francs later, 327 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:15,920 the Lesseps version of the canal, without locks, had to be abandoned. 328 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:19,800 And the Panama Interoceanic Company, the pride of France, 329 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,840 funded by thousands of small investors, had to be salvaged. 330 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:33,360 Many saw Eiffel as the man to turn this disaster into a triumph. 331 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,600 Boosted by progress on the tower, Eiffel agreed 332 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:41,200 to take on the most gigantic civil engineering project of his times. 333 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:48,960 For the astronomical amount of 100 million francs - 334 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:52,560 more than 15 times the Eiffel Tower's construction cost - 335 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:57,040 he was contracted to build ten giant canal locks. 336 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:03,480 - He agrees to make those locks at a great cost to Lesseps. 337 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:07,680 Eiffel will reap great rewards 338 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:12,240 and he needs those, I believe, to build the Eiffel Tower. 339 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:17,000 I believe that the Panama Canal project is partly funding 340 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,360 the Eiffel Tower itself. 341 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:28,520 - Eiffel had to take charge of the construction site, 342 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:31,440 direct the gigantic earthworks, 343 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:36,120 manufacture 20 enormous lock gates of his own design, 344 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,800 then ship them to Panama and deliver the work, 345 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,400 all before the concession expired in 1890. 346 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:49,640 He now had two races against the clock. 347 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:14,920 The Eiffel company was working at full capacity. 348 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:20,760 On 4th July 1888, a party was in full swing 349 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:22,920 on the tower's first level. 350 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:27,760 Gustave Eiffel had organised a banquet to celebrate 351 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,040 American Independence Day. 352 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:33,800 The first level of the tower was decked out 353 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:35,840 in the colours of the two nations. 354 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:43,040 In the middle, a table had been set up to welcome the press. 355 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,320 Over 40 journalists and foreign correspondents had made the ascent 356 00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:50,000 to the first floor. 357 00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:59,720 But, six months before the scheduled completion date, 358 00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:02,640 the site's machinery ground to a halt. 359 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:08,440 On 19th September 1888, most of the workers went on strike. 360 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:39,160 Of the 140 riveters, fitters and carpenters, 361 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,000 only 27 showed up for work. 362 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,520 Construction couldn't continue. 363 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:49,640 Eiffel quickly did the calculations. 364 00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:53,360 The tower might not be completed in time for the World's Fair. 365 00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:58,000 He met their demands. 366 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:03,240 By November 1888, 367 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:06,400 Eiffel and his team were all smiles again. 368 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:11,760 The tower had become the tallest building on Earth - 170m - 369 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:16,160 one metre higher than the Washington Monument's stone obelisk. 370 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,080 Progress would now be faster. 371 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:24,560 The structure was thinner and required fewer parts. 372 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:29,880 One metre was being added every day. 373 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:37,920 By 15th March 1889, the third level was almost complete. 374 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,360 But there was still the paintwork to finish 375 00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:44,440 and the lifts to install, which was turning into a major headache. 376 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:51,400 The tower's lifts, a crucial part of the visitor experience, 377 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,880 represented a technological leap forward. 378 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:59,480 Transporting the public to a height of 300m was a new challenge 379 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:02,880 and new machinery had to be invented to meet it. 380 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:08,400 Stephane Rosec is in charge of the lifts. 381 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:13,360 His workplace is worthy of a novel by Jules Verne. 382 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:16,600 The key to producing the energy needed to raise 383 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:19,800 the lifts to the first and then the second level is 384 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:21,840 hydraulic pressure. 385 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:55,160 This hydraulic pressure pushes an imposing 16m-long jack. 386 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:59,240 In turn, it drives a rail-mounted carriage, which operates 387 00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:04,440 a set of pulleys that raises the elevator car up to the second level. 388 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,640 When the piston travels one metre, 389 00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:10,920 this system of pulley cables moves the cabin 8m. 390 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:20,560 But on the 31st March 1889, the lifts were not ready 391 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:25,360 and Gustave Eiffel had to climb the stairs to raise the French flag. 392 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:35,840 WIND WHISTLES 393 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:39,680 A few daring climbers braved the heights to accompany him. 394 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:55,480 This beautiful open structure had been completed in record time. 395 00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:00,200 Well, almost. 396 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:06,000 The lifts were not yet working and the paintwork was unfinished. 397 00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:20,080 The Eiffel Tower has received 19 coats of paint 398 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:24,000 since its construction, an average of one every seven years, 399 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:28,440 as prescribed by Gustave Eiffel himself, to protect it from rust. 400 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,160 From one painting campaign to the next, 401 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,160 the tower's colours have changed. 402 00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:36,720 Very bright at the time of the World's Fair, 403 00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:38,880 they have since become much darker. 404 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:05,440 The tower has been repainted 19 times. 405 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,600 It is now time for a fresh coat. 406 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:13,000 Pierre-Antoine Gatier is in charge. 407 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:45,160 The yellow-brown paint is the same colour chosen by Eiffel in 1907, 408 00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:48,360 when the tower acquired permanent status. 409 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,720 The tower is repainted by rope access, 410 00:45:01,720 --> 00:45:04,560 using tools such as the mop - an angled brush 411 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:08,640 similar to those originally used by the Eiffel company workers. 412 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:35,600 It takes several years to apply the 60 tonnes of paint 413 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:39,320 to cover the surface of the tower using this technique. 414 00:45:47,960 --> 00:45:52,480 In Paris, after more than two years of dizzying construction work, 415 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:54,320 the big day arrived. 416 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:57,280 Parisians and visitors flocked into the city. 417 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:03,560 On 6th May 1889, after a race against the clock, 418 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:06,160 the French President, Sadi Carnot, 419 00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,960 opened the World's Fair with the utmost solemnity. 420 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:17,640 The triumph of iron was complete. 421 00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:28,800 The World's Fair was then opened to the public, who arrived in droves, 422 00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:32,880 thanks, in part, to a railway line specially built for the occasion. 423 00:46:35,240 --> 00:46:38,440 Contrary to some of the artists' predictions, 424 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:40,720 the sight was priceless. 425 00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:10,840 FANFARE PLAYS 426 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:19,080 On the evening of 6th May 1889, there was a grand celebration... 427 00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:25,920 ..and the tower unveiled her lights for the first time. 428 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:33,360 Boats on the Seine were festooned with lanterns. 429 00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:36,360 Orchestras played late into the night. 430 00:47:36,360 --> 00:47:38,600 The special day of inauguration ended 431 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:41,280 with a suitably festive climax. 432 00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:54,440 The Universal Expo World's Fair was a huge success, 433 00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:59,880 attracting 32 million visitors between May and October 1889. 434 00:47:59,880 --> 00:48:03,640 Over the same period of time, Monsieur Eiffel's tower, 435 00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:08,520 the undisputed star of the fair, sold over two million tickets - 436 00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:10,680 a resounding success. 437 00:48:33,240 --> 00:48:37,440 But, despite Eiffel's star shining so brightly, 438 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:41,680 the year 1892 turned into a nightmare. 439 00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:49,840 He was caught up in an enormous scandal that shook French society. 440 00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:53,920 The bankruptcy of the company that built the Panama Canal, 441 00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:56,880 headed by the famous Charles de Lesseps. 442 00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:01,200 Thousands of small investors were ruined - 443 00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:03,360 some committed suicide. 444 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:06,640 The scandal revealed the corruption of members of parliament 445 00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:08,560 from every party. 446 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:10,960 Eiffel, too, was a suspect. 447 00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:47,120 On 10th January, after a two-year investigation, 448 00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:51,000 the trial of the directors of the Panama Interoceanic Company 449 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:52,480 opened in Paris. 450 00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:58,880 Facing the judges at the Higher Appeals Court, 451 00:49:58,880 --> 00:50:02,280 the defendants include Charles de Lesseps, 452 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:05,320 along with his father, Ferdinand de Lesseps, 453 00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:08,880 two other company directors and Eiffel. 454 00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:17,200 They had to answer charges of complicity in fraud 455 00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:19,040 and breach of trust. 456 00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:22,600 At first, Eiffel was convinced he would be exonerated. 457 00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:29,600 But a month later, although defended by a brilliant lawyer, 458 00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:35,040 he was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 20,000 francs. 459 00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:38,680 He was discredited and his reputation shattered. 460 00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:41,800 For Eiffel, it was a humiliation. 461 00:51:01,720 --> 00:51:04,880 The tower was also going through a rough patch. 462 00:51:04,880 --> 00:51:09,040 Visitors were deserting it and the scandal didn't help. 463 00:51:12,200 --> 00:51:15,040 What would become of the monument as the date approached 464 00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:19,520 for the World's Fair in 1900, also taking place in Paris? 465 00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:24,080 Transformation projects emerged, 466 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:29,120 maliciously proposing to turn the tower into an improbable rock, 467 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:31,600 or a giant belfry topped by a clock, 468 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:34,760 or a kind of Mesopotamian ziggurat. 469 00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:38,800 Eiffel dismissed these projects as distortions of his tower. 470 00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:42,560 What he really wanted was 471 00:51:42,560 --> 00:51:45,360 to transform it into a palace of electricity. 472 00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:49,120 The investment would have been enormous, 473 00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:53,040 but the tower would essentially be preserved in its original form. 474 00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:01,720 JAUNTY PIANO MUSIC 475 00:52:01,720 --> 00:52:05,800 The 1900 fair was much larger than that of 1889, 476 00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:09,280 and its centre was no longer on the Champ de Mars, 477 00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:12,960 but closer to Les Invalides and the Place de la Concorde, 478 00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:16,080 where a spectacular gateway had been placed. 479 00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:23,520 As a result, the tower found itself on the sidelines, 480 00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:27,120 and the modernisation work carried out to improve the lifts 481 00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:31,720 and install electricity was not enough to rekindle public interest. 482 00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:56,600 Once the 1900 World's Fair was over, 483 00:52:56,600 --> 00:53:00,240 ideas emerged to transform the Champ de Mars again, 484 00:53:00,240 --> 00:53:02,840 this time into a large park. 485 00:53:05,560 --> 00:53:07,240 Eiffel was worried. 486 00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:09,600 He looked for ways to preserve the tower 487 00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:13,080 and make it a lasting fixture in the Parisian landscape. 488 00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:15,720 It would be the last battle of his life. 489 00:53:17,200 --> 00:53:21,160 With his mind increasingly focused on science, he foresaw 490 00:53:21,160 --> 00:53:26,160 the importance of wireless radio, which required very high antennas. 491 00:53:26,160 --> 00:53:29,080 He understood the role the tower could play 492 00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:32,080 in the development of wireless telegraphy. 493 00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:37,920 In December 1903, he decided to turn to the army. 494 00:53:37,920 --> 00:53:41,360 His proposal received a cool reception at the ministry, 495 00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:45,400 except from a brilliant young engineer, Captain Ferrie, 496 00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:48,840 who was looking to develop wireless telegraphy. 497 00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:51,960 Ferrie obtained authorisation from the army 498 00:53:51,960 --> 00:53:55,480 to install a wireless station at the Eiffel Tower. 499 00:53:58,520 --> 00:54:03,480 Gustave Eiffel paid for huts to host a transmitter on the Champ de Mars. 500 00:54:03,480 --> 00:54:06,240 The tower was equipped with an extraordinary antenna 501 00:54:06,240 --> 00:54:08,560 made of four steel cables. 502 00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:11,560 This antenna was constantly evolving. 503 00:54:11,560 --> 00:54:16,720 The Iron Lady ended up being rigged with 360m cables. 504 00:54:16,720 --> 00:54:21,640 One year before its concession was due to end in 1909, 505 00:54:21,640 --> 00:54:25,600 it had become a strategic tool for national defence. 506 00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:30,560 The tower was saved from destruction and the concession was extended. 507 00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:38,520 It was a cold day in Paris when Gustave Eiffel died, 508 00:54:38,520 --> 00:54:43,960 on 27th December 1923, at the age of 91, 509 00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:48,080 one year after the inauguration of Radio Tour Eiffel. 510 00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:52,320 Le Matin paid him tribute, 511 00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:55,680 "A great Frenchman, whose name is famous the world over, 512 00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:57,400 "has just died." 513 00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:03,880 Gustave had left his tower without a protector. 514 00:55:03,880 --> 00:55:08,000 A few years later, the Eiffel Tower lost its 41-year record 515 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:10,480 as the world's tallest building. 516 00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:14,560 In quick succession, two New York skyscrapers overtook it. 517 00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:19,160 The Chrysler Building at 319m in 1930, 518 00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:23,440 followed by the famous Empire State Building in 1931, 519 00:55:23,440 --> 00:55:27,360 which topped out at 381m. 520 00:55:27,360 --> 00:55:31,480 - The Eiffel Tower in so many ways is surpassed by skyscrapers, 521 00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:34,320 the building of taller and taller structures, 522 00:55:34,320 --> 00:55:36,400 especially in the United States, 523 00:55:36,400 --> 00:55:40,120 and I think there is a way that, in terms of appreciating 524 00:55:40,120 --> 00:55:44,920 its longevity, one has to understand 525 00:55:44,920 --> 00:55:48,400 that what began as unforeseen, 526 00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:54,640 modern construction, so bold, so geometric, so nonfigurative, 527 00:55:54,640 --> 00:56:01,160 at some point transforms into a certain quaintness... 528 00:56:02,320 --> 00:56:06,560 ..a certain nostalgia for a 19th century 529 00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:09,320 that has been so surpassed by the 20th. 530 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:13,960 The Eiffel Tower still stands, 531 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:17,040 not just for Paris but for 19th-century Paris. 532 00:56:21,800 --> 00:56:25,120 - Now in the hands of the City of Paris, 533 00:56:25,120 --> 00:56:28,360 this 19th-century monument renews itself constantly 534 00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:30,400 to retain its glamour. 535 00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:37,600 In 1985, 336 sodium lamps were installed inside the structure. 536 00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:44,120 Then a network of LED bulbs was added all over the outer surface 537 00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:47,480 to create a sparkling effect that has delighted visitors 538 00:56:47,480 --> 00:56:49,800 since the turn of the millennium. 539 00:56:54,400 --> 00:56:59,400 Its nocturnal aura has been further enhanced in the early 21st century 540 00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:01,960 by the installation of a new beacon 541 00:57:01,960 --> 00:57:05,960 that casts a spectacular beam through the Parisian night sky. 542 00:57:10,320 --> 00:57:14,880 This powerful spotlight no longer signals the tower to aircraft, 543 00:57:14,880 --> 00:57:18,520 since the Paris skies have been closed to them. 544 00:57:18,520 --> 00:57:22,200 It now shines out over the French capital and its suburbs 545 00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:24,440 for the pleasure of all. 546 00:57:32,040 --> 00:57:34,480 For over 30 years, the brilliant Gustave Eiffel 547 00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:40,440 and his eccentric Iron Lady went through uncertain times, 548 00:57:40,440 --> 00:57:42,800 but, together, they worked wonders, 549 00:57:42,800 --> 00:57:47,120 and have made Paris a magnet for travellers from all over the world. 550 00:57:49,320 --> 00:57:53,240 During World War I, wireless telegraphy saved France 551 00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:56,000 from defeat by thwarting German attacks. 552 00:57:58,840 --> 00:58:02,880 Nowadays, nothing is too daring for it to please the crowds 553 00:58:02,880 --> 00:58:06,720 on special popular celebrations like Bastille Day. 554 00:58:08,520 --> 00:58:13,080 A visionary work and the adventure of a lifetime for its creator, 555 00:58:13,080 --> 00:58:17,240 the Eiffel Tower has never ceased to reinvent itself.