Paris 1917. Although aerial bombardments were not of great importance during the First World War, the authorities of the capital and those in charge of the French Army were concerned about the ravages that the German zeppelines had caused in London two years ago. As they did not know how to protect themselves against possible attacks, they decided to “channel” the attacks: In Paris a reply would be built, as a hook, so that the Germans would destroy the false capital rather than the real one.

They first chose the location. North of the capital, about 24 kilometres away, they observed that the curves of the Seine river in the village of Maisons-Laffitte were similar to those of Paris. The false Paris would be built there.

The most emblematic buildings in Paris would be built in wood. But to fool the German pilots at night, the replica of the City of Light needed that, light. Through private funding, they hired Fernand Jacopozzi, an electrical engineer. Its function was to represent the activity of the factories, the passing of the trains and, ultimately, the life of the capital through lighting. To acknowledge the effort made in the replica, the Paris City Hall commissioned Jacopozzi to illuminate the Eiffel Tower after the end of the war.

The works of the new Paris began in 1918. The wood Gare du Nord station was erected and a space was built that presented the appearance of the Champs-Elysées. In addition, the project includes the construction of the Opera, the Arc de Triomphe and other emblematic elements, as well as the construction of Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers and other neighborhoods. But the armistice signed in November 1918 left the project. The war ended without demonstrating the effectiveness of the false Paris.

The French perfectly predicted the importance of air strikes, but they still did not know that radars cannot be fooled as easily as human sight.