The other hypothesis is that a young republican killed in the "Three Glorious Days" of the July Revolution - cut down as he planted the tricolour - cried "Remember that I am called Arcole" just before his death, presumably as he was imitating Bonaparte's action.

This account is reported in the English guide "Paris; Its Historical Buildings and Revolutions" (C. Cox, London 1849) It was only in 1828 that a suspension bridge for pedestrians with two 6m-wide carriageways, supported from a central pier in midstream, was built by Marc Seguin.

The pont d'Arcole was built to the plans of Alphonse Oudry (1819–1869), retired Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées and his partner Nicolas Cadiat;[2] the structure was innovative in that it was the first unsupported bridge across the Seine to be made entirely in wrought iron rather than cast iron.

The low arch, only lightly cambered, was also innovative, and on 16 February 1888 it suddenly sagged by 20 cm and had to be consolidated.

It was only between 1994 and 1995 that the city council made overall repairs to the bridge's roadways, reviewing its waterproofing and paintwork at the same time.