During World War I, France built a fake Paris to fool Germany

During World War I, the French created a dummy version of Paris to the city’s immediate north. The plan was to fool German planes into thinking the Potemkin city was the real thing, thus leaving the City of Lights untouched by bombs.

The fake city was built just north of the real one. There were electric lights, replica buildings, and even a copy of the Gare du Nord—the station from which high-speed trains now travel to and from London.

Fortunately, the plan was never put to the test. The war ended before the fake city was finished. Both the real Paris and the fake one escaped significant damage.The fake version has long since disappeared, though photos of it remain.