alternatehistory.com

So, last night I watched the film Diplomacy, a joint French-German film that tells the story of General Dietrich von Choltitz, the last Nazi Governor of Paris, and his decision to defy Hitler's orders that the Allies could only take back Paris if it was a smoldering ruin.
In the film, they briefly go over the plans, which called for the destruction of all but one bridge over the Seine, the resulting rubble from the bridges would cause massive flooding as the river's normal course is blocked. Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Acr de Triomphe, and other famous landmarks were all to be blasted to oblivion.

What would have been the long term effects of this after the war had Choltitz not decided to ignore Hitler's orders?

In the film (and I'm not sure exactly how accurate this is), the Swedish Consul in Paris spends the night working to convince Choltitz to not destroy Paris, and his decision is last minute, though it is shown that the General privately is not happy with his orders, but fears what will happen to his family if he disobeys (Sippenhaft law in effect)
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