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Origin and history

The Lycée Lamartine is a public school in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, founded in 1893 in a mansion built in 1740 by architect Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne for the Marquis Louis Phélypeaux de Saint-Florentin. This building, originally built in 1697 for Pierre Beauchamps, master of ballet of Louis XIV, was enlarged and transformed into an aristocratic residence before being bought in 1891 by the Ministry of Public Instruction to install a high school of girls.

The private hotel, whose facades and some interiors (such as the woodwork salon classified as Monument Historic in 1923) date from the 18th century, was adapted to accommodate classrooms in place of the old garden. Unlike the high schools of boys of the time, often built ex nihilo in a monumental style, the Lamartine high school reused an existing heritage, reflecting a distinct approach to female education under the Third Republic.

In the 20th century, the high school evolved with its time: it became mixed, annexed an old nearby cotton spinning (known as the "cotton court") to cope with the influx of students in the 1960s, and developed artistic teachings (theatre, plastic arts, music). During the Second World War, he served briefly as a refugee centre during the Exodus (1940) and was subjected to anti-Semitic persecution under the occupation, with the deportation of many Jewish students.

Today, Lamartine High School is distinguished by its dominant literary and artistic options, while offering scientific and economic teachings. Its history reflects the transformations of education in France, from the creation of girls' high schools to mix and cultural openness. The school also houses a preparatory class for large schools (hypokhâgne), although this sector was threatened with abolition in 2024.

The site, located at 121 rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière, preserves traces of its aristocratic past, such as the staircase of the garden or the woodwork of the eighteenth century, while being part of the contemporary Parisian educational landscape. Close to the Gare du Nord and the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul church, it remains an emblematic place in the 9th arrondissement, mixing architectural heritage and educational vocation.

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