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Key figures

Origin and history

The building of the Société générale, located at 29 boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, was designed by architect Jacques Hermant between 1905 and 1912. The bank, founded in 1864 by industrialists and financiers such as Eugene Schneider and Paulin Talabot, acquired in 1905 seven adjoining buildings dating from the end of the Second Empire. Hermant preserves only their facades, an early process of "façadism", while completely rearranging the interior to install the Paris headquarters and central agency.

The project includes the creation of four levels in the basement, housing the vault rooms, and a monumental hall topped by a metal-frame dome, created by Moisant-Laurent and Savey. The windows are the work of Jacques Galland, while the mosaic pavements are signed Gentil and Bourdet. The main entrance, decorated with a pediment carved by Jean Luc, symbolizes the power and modernity of the bank. The whole was inaugurated in June 1912, marking a key step in the expansion of the General Society, then growing.

This building reflects the bank's ambition to impose itself as a major player in the French financial system, at a time when it is expanding its network in France and abroad. Its architecture, combining tradition and technical innovation, embodies the spirit of the Belle Époque, a period of economic prosperity and the growth of large banking institutions. The building, partially protected since 1977, remains an architectural testimony of that time.

The Société générale, originally created to finance industrial and railway development, became one of the "Three Oldies" under the Third Republic, alongside Crédit Lyonnais and BNP Paribas. Its Parisian headquarters, with its spectacular hall and modern facilities, illustrates its central role in the French economy. The building, still used today, preserves original elements such as the glass and the large staircase, classified as historical monuments.

The bank's history is also marked by events such as the band's attack at Bonnot in 1911, where anarchists rob a general society courier, or its role during the two world wars. However, the building on Boulevard Haussmann remains above all a symbol of its stability and its anchoring in the Parisian banking landscape for more than a century.

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