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Origin and history

The Fountain of l'Embâcle is an artistic work located in Place du Québec, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, at the intersection of Rue de Rennes, Rue Bonaparte and Boulevard Saint-Germain. It faces two iconic cafés, the Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots. Inaugurated in 1984, this fountain is composed of curved bronze plates that seem to raise the sidewalk, evoking the springing water released by the melting of winter ice.

The Place du Québec, where the fountain is located, was inaugurated in 1980. Four years later, this work by Quebec artist Charles Daudelin was offered to the city of Paris. Its name, "Camble", refers to a natural phenomenon where ice obstructs the bed of a stream, as happens every year in the St. Lawrence River and the Quebec rivers. The fountain thus symbolizes the moment when the waters, released from the ice, resume their course.

The work fits perfectly into its urban environment, creating a continuity between art and the city. The bronze plates, arranged organically, give the impression that the sidewalk is animated by the force of water. This monument not only celebrates the links between Paris and Quebec, but also the power and beauty of Quebec's natural landscapes, evoked by the movement and fluidity of the fountain.

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