‘I see you, Eiffel you': Police car blares Titanic song while cruising flood-hit Parisian street

Straits Times

27-06-2025

Two people, including a child, died in a violent storm that lashed France on June 25. PHOTO: AFP
'I see you, Eiffel you': Police car blares Titanic song while cruising flood-hit Parisian street
A French policeman cruised along a flooded Parisian street on June 26 with, appropriately enough, Celine Dion's iconic song from the movie Titanic – My Heart Will Go On – on full blast.
A clip on TikTok shows the police cruiser moving through a street in Paris in ankle-deep floodwaters playing My Heart Will Go On at full volume through its mounted bullhorns.
And, no, it did not hit a rock.
The video has been 'liked' close to 500,000 times on the TikTok page of social media trends aggregator Brut, and reposted by several news outlets.
My Heart Will Go On is the song most associated with the 1997 movie Titanic, which grossed over US$2.2 billion (S$2.8 billion) worldwide.
It plays in the pivotal scene when the two lead characters, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, stood at the bow of the Titanic, with their arms outstretched and DiCaprio shouting: 'I'm the King of the World!'
The real Titanic sank shortly after it hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean .
'Clearly, the cops were channelling the doomed ship itself, slowly rolling through the Paris floodwaters like the Titanic in the North Atlantic… all to break the ice and lift spirits,' said the entertainment site TMZ.
'This wasn't some subtle moment either,' it added. 'That 'Titanic' tune was blaring loud and proud, sending a clear message: When life floods your streets, throw on Celine and keep on cruisin'.'
Nearly all who saw the clip found it funny.
'It's nice to see the French still have a sense of humour,' said a Reddit user .
'Savage,' commented another Reddit user.
'So unserious, I love it,' said a TikTok user.
There were the inevitable Titanic references.
'Come back, come back,' said one on TikTok, referring to a plea for rescue from the character played by Winslet in the closing minutes of the movie.
'Every night in my dreams, I see you, Eiffel you,' said a TikTok user .
Another said: 'Did they yell out over the speaker: Helloooo! Is anyone alive out there??? Can anybody hear me????'
There were the subtly sexy takes.
'Draw me like one of your French cops,' said one.
And there was the near universal opinion that this was exactly the kind of humour France needed after a particularly harrowing day.
'That's the right mood to face that situation,' said a commenter on TikTok.
Another said: 'I'm loving how unserious the world is now. This is heartwarming.'
Two people, including a child, died in a violent storm that lashed France on June 25. The violent downpour injured 17 others, one seriously.
In southern France, a falling tree killed a 12-year-old boy, while a man on a quad bike died after crashing into a tree that had been brought down by the storm.
In Paris, the sky turned an eerie yellow hue as lightning flashed above the city and fierce winds sent Parisians rushing for cover.
The storms followed a sweltering heatwave with temperatures passing 35 deg C. It brought gusts of wind exceeding 100kmh, which damaged property.
Nearly 100,000 homes were still left without electricity on June 26, mainly in central France.
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