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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Maison de la Mutalité, also known as Palais de la Mutalité, is a multipurpose building built in 1930 by architects Victor Lesage and Charles Miltgen on the site of the former seminary of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, destroyed in 1911. Inaugurated in 1931 by President Paul Doumer, its Art Deco facade, roofing and interior spaces have been listed as historic monuments since 2011. The main hall, originally designed for 1,789 places in reference to the French Revolution, is now reduced to 1,732 places after renovation.

The building is historically linked to the French left, hosting as early as 1933 the 30th SFIO Congress and, in 1935, the first international congress of writers for the defense of culture. It became a symbol of social struggles, as in 1960 with a student protest against the Algerian war, or in 1965 with a lecture by Martin Luther King in front of 3,500 people. Feminist events, such as the "Journées de dénunciation des crimes contre les femmes" in 1972 with Simone de Beauvoir, are also echoed.

In 1973, the Mutuality was the scene of mobilizations of the undocumented against the circulars Marcellin-Fontanet, as well as confrontations between extreme right (Ordre nouveau) and extreme left. The venue also hosts cultural figures such as Léo Ferré, Marcel Cerdan, Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Brel. After a financial crisis in 2008, the building was renovated in 2012 by Jean-Michel Wilmotte for 20 million euros, reducing its capacity and upgrading its equipment.

Mutuality remains a place of major political meetings, such as those of Jacques Chirac in 1992 (Maastricht campaign), Lionel Jospin in 2002, or Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 for the presidential election. Its architecture, combining marbles, ironwork inspired by the Normandy ship and frescoes rediscovered, makes it a unique testimony of Parisian art deco.

Managed since 2008 by GL Events via an emphyteotic lease of 35 years, the site is now positioned as a "Conference Palace" of the Left Bank, hosting concerts, shows, fashion shows and product launches. Its history reflects the great social, political and cultural movements of contemporary France, from between the two wars to the present day.

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