Origin and history
The Palais de l'Élysée, originally named Hôtel d'Évreux, was built between 1718 and 1722 by the architect Armand-Claude Mollet for Louis-Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Count of Évreux. The latter, ambitious but disgent, sold his county of Tancarville to finance this project, on a swampy land near the future Champs-Élysées. The building, in classic style, was distinguished by its rounded courtyard of honor, its square wings and an interior decor in Regency style, led by Jules Michel Alexandre Hardouin after 1720. The hotel quickly became a symbol of prestige, attracting mockery and admiration, especially after the visit of Regent Philippe d'Orléans, who would personally hand over a patent to the Count.
In 1753 the Marquise de Pompadour, the favourite of Louis XV, acquired the hotel for 730,000 pounds and undertook major transformations there. She added golden woodwork, a controversial vegetable garden blocking the Grand Cours (future Champs-Elysées), and a golden cave for her daughter. The gardens, redesigned, even welcome a flock of sheep with golden horns, reflecting the pastoral style of the time. When he died in 1764, the hotel became the property of the Crown and served briefly as an exhibition venue for Joseph Vernet's Ports de France, before being sold in 1773 to the banker Nicolas Beaujon. The latter, under the direction of Étienne-Louis Boullée, modernized the hotel, enlarged the west wing, and transformed the gardens with English, adding a lake and a menagerie.
The French Revolution marks a turning point for the Élysée. Bathilde d'Orléans, Duchess of Bourbon and nicknamed "Citizen Truth", resided there before being imprisoned during the Terror. The palace, renamed Élysée National in 1797, is transformed into a café-concert by the couple Hovyn, welcoming masked balls, exhibitions and even a balloon climb. In 1805, Joachim Murat, Napoleon I's brother-in-law, made it his residence and added a monumental staircase, the silver salon, and a gallery of paintings. Napoleon I himself stayed there briefly in 1815, signing his abdication in this same silver salon, before the palace passed into the hands of the restored Bourbons.
Under the Second Republic, a law of 1848 officially designates Elysée as the president's residence. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the first holder of this post, organized his coup d'état in 1851 in the silver salon, before becoming emperor under the name of Napoleon III. The latter undertook a major renovation (1853-1867) under the direction of Joseph-Eugène Lacroix, adding a floor, a neo-Byzantine chapel, and a monumental façade on the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. The palace then became a place for the fascination of European sovereigns, like Queen Victoria in 1855. During the Commune of Paris (1871), he was saved from the fire thanks to the discreet intervention of his manager.
The Third Republic confirmed the palace as a presidential residence in 1879. Each president made changes: Sadi Carnot built the festive hall (1889), Vincent Auriol modernized the interiors (1947), and Charles de Gaulle reorganized the spaces in 1959, separating the official functions (central building) from the private apartments (eastern wing). The attic, built under Bernadette Chirac, became the private apartments of the presidents from 2007. The palace, which has been open to the public during Heritage Days since 1990, today embodies both executive power and a complex historical heritage, where imperial, republican and contemporary decorations mix.
The gardens, redesigned several times, move from a strict French style under the count of Évreux to an English park under Beaujon, then to a fantastic landscaped area under Bathilde d'Orléans, with waterfalls and factories. In the 20th century, they were simplified, losing their baroque elements for a central lawn lined with aisles. Since 1992, landscaper Jacques Wirtz has added fountains and a rose garden, while Louis Benech introduced coloured plates in 1996. A symbol of power and continuity, the Élysée remains a place at once intimately linked to the history of France and in constant evolution, as evidenced by the opening in 2024 of La Maison Élysée, a museum dedicated to its architecture and its occupants.
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