About Nantes > Why an elephant?

Why is there an elephant in the isFFF 2024 logo?

Excellent question! 

Le Grand Éléphant is a central feature of Nantes’ Les Machines de l’île - a product of François Delaroziere and Pierre Orefice’s collective imagination. Les Machines de l’île is the only place where you’ll find Jules Verne’s “Invented Worlds,” the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and Nantes’ industrial history, all on the exceptional site of the city’s former shipyards.

Some specifications of Le Grand Éléphant:

• 12 meters tall

• 8 meters wide

• 21 meters long

• 48.4 metric tons of steel and wood

• Metal body lubricated with 2,500 litres of hydraulic oil.

• Motorization: hybrid system, electric traction and battery

• Speed: 1 to 3 kM/h

• Set in motion using 62 cylinders, 46 of which are hydraulic, 6 pneuMatic and 10 gas-powered.

• An indoor lounge with French doors and balconies

• A terrace accessible via stairways

• 3 different itineraries: 30 min. trip
  
  

More information about Le Grand Éléphant and Les Machines de l’île