Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, often referred to as " Franklin" in reference to its location on Rue Benjamin-Franklin (formerly rue Franklin), is a private Catholic educational institution founded in 1894 by the Jesuits in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Initially named "Petit Externat du Trocadéro", he moved to No. 10 on Franklin Street, in premises previously occupied by the Saint-Charles-d'Iéna School. Its main objective is to welcome students from the tenth to the sixth, serving as "outpost" at the Collège Saint-Ignace de la rue de Madrid. From its beginnings, the school grew rapidly, from 75 pupils in 1895 to 220 in 1898, before becoming the last Jesuit college in Paris after the closure of the other institutions of the congregation.

In the early twentieth century, despite anti-clerical policies and expulsions from religious congregations, the school continued to expand. In 1920, there were 885 students and an association of elders was established. In 1933-1935, under the direction of Father François Berlier de Vauplane, the establishment was completely rebuilt in an Art Deco style by architect Henri Viollet. The chapel, decorated with a fresco by Henri de Maistre depicting the life of Saint Louis de Gonzague, was classified as a historical monument in 1993. During the Second World War, classes were given in cellars or boarding schools in Baville, and the school expanded with the acquisition of a site on Rue Louis-David for primary school in 1942.

After the war, the high school was gradually secularizing: the number of religious was decreasing (24 fathers in 1956 compared with 9 in 1978), and a woman, Miss de Follin, was appointed primary director in 1968. Mixity was introduced in 1980 and Françoise Bouissou became the first woman to run the institution in 1990. The ECE preparatory classes were created in 1986, and expansion works were carried out in the years 1990 and 2010, including a new building for prepas in 2016. In 2021-2022, the chapel was renovated with the support of the Heritage Foundation, and a Mass of dedication was celebrated there in March 2022.

The high school is renowned for its academic excellence, with bachelor's degree rates regularly exceeding 95%, and rankings among the best in France. His educational project, inspired by the Jesuit Magis (research for excellence and service of others), includes international exchanges, artistic activities (master's, theatre) and sports, as well as social engagement through first-class community projects. Today, the school is home to nearly 2,000 students, from kindergarten to preparatory classes, spread over two sites 500 metres away.

His story is also marked by illustrious personalities, among his students or teachers, such as politicians Bruno Le Maire and Georges Bidault, businessmen François Villeroy de Galhau (Bank of France) and Jacques-Antoine Granjon (Vente-Privaye), and writer Aliette de Bodard. However, her past also included cases of sexual abuse, revealed in 2016 by former student victims in the 1950s-1960s, without internal investigations being conducted at the time. These revelations led to the creation of a watch group by the Vatican in 2014.

Architecturally, the Grand College is built on old Chaillot quarries, and one of its recreational spaces, located on the rooftops, offers a view of the Eiffel Tower. The high school is served by the metro stations Passy and Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9) and remains a symbol of Parisian bourgeois education, studied by sociologists such as Jean-Pierre Faguer for his role in the reproduction of elites. His coat of arms took over the arms of the Gonzague family, in homage to his patron saint, Louis de Gonzague, model of Catholic youth.

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