Palais Bourbon

An aristocratic country house in Paris

The Palace was commissioned by Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Duchess of Bourbon, the daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Built between 1722 and 1728, the Palace was situated in the Pré-au-Clercs, a rural area on the outskirts of Paris that was about to become the fashionable residential neighborhood of Faubourg Saint-Germain. This move by the aristocracy to establish their residences in Paris was a result of the death of Louis XIV in 1715 and the subsequent shift of power to the Regent. Due to the scarcity of building-space land in the densely-populated Marais, the nobility looked for land on the edges of the city, which offered space for gardens.

Initially, the Duchess of Bourbon had a reputation for frivolity at the Court of Versailles. However, in the 1720s, after being widowed and having seven children, she decided to build the Palace. The land for the Palace was purchased by the reputed lover of the Duchess, Armand de Madaillan de Lesparre, Count of Lassy, who had already acquired land next to the Seine. The original plan for the Palace called for a country residence surrounded by gardens, modeled after the Grand Trianon palace at Versailles, and was designed by Italian architect Lorenzo Giardini. However, the project was taken over by Pierre Cailleteau, and later by Jean Aubert, who completed the Palace in 1728, along with the neighbouring Hôtel de Lassay, designed by Jacques Gabriel.

The Palais Bourbon and Hôtel de Lassay were built in the Italian style and had hidden roofs and gardens. The Palais Bourbon was shaped like a U, with the main building parallel to the Seine and two wings surrounding a courtyard. The entrance featured an ornate archway with pavilions on either side. The Hôtel de Lassay was rectangular and smaller in size, but both buildings had identical facades with alternating columns and windows and decorations depicting themes like the seasons and Apollo. Inside, the house had large reception rooms and corridors, which were uncommon at the time. The original apartments were demolished in subsequent remodelings.

Louis XV bought the Palace and planned to include it in the Place Royale, but sold it to the Duchess's grandson, who rebuilt it in the neoclassical style. He purchased the neighboring Hôtel de Lassay and engaged several architects, including Peyre, to design a new plan. The entrance was replaced with a more impressive gate, and the wings were extended, with a pavilion added for one of the Prince's sons. Military decorations were added to the vestibule. The palace was completed in the 1780s, but the French Revolution led to the Prince's exile and the state confiscation of the two residences in 1792.

The Revolution, Consulate and Empire

The French Revolution began with the first national assembly, held without royal authorization on 20 June 1789 in the tennis court of the Palace of Versailles. As the Revolution progressed, the aristocracy fled and many palaces, including the Palais Bourbon and Hôtel de Lassay, were nationalized and repurposed for government functions. In 1793 and 1794, the Convention led by Robespierre and Saint-Just unleashed a period of extreme violence known as the Terror, which ultimately led to their arrest and execution on 28 July 1794. A new government, the Directory, took power and adopted a new Constitution in 1795 that called for a parliament with two chambers. The Council of Five Hundred was given the Palais Bourbon as its meeting place, and architects Jacques-Pierre Gisors and Emmanuel-Cherubin Leconte were commissioned to design a suitable meeting chamber in the Palace. They created a hemicycle-shaped chamber with a cupola modeled after the amphitheater of the Academy of Surgery, but poor acoustics led to modifications. The new chamber features a classical Roman design by Jacques-Louis David for the desk and armchair of the President, and a bas-relief of allegorical figures of History and Fame. The construction of the chamber drastically modified the building and blocked the view of the Palais Bourbon from the Place de la Concorde.

The Council of Five Hundred held their first meeting on January 21, 1798, coinciding with the anniversary of Louis XVI's execution. The members arrived dressed in Roman attire, but the chamber itself lacked proper ventilation and heating, and its poor acoustics made it difficult to hear speakers. However, the acoustics ultimately proved irrelevant when Napoleon Bonaparte seized power from the Council in a coup d'état on November 8, 1799.

Napoleon established a new legislature, the Corps Legislatif, which had limited power and was only required to listen to his annual speech and adopt proposed laws. While he did not grant the legislature much power, he did commission the construction of a grand new facade for their building. The Bureau of the Corps Legislatif proposed the construction of a new neoclassical facade facing the Seine, designed by architect Bernard Poyet, featuring twelve Corinthian columns and bas-reliefs by sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet. The facade was aligned with the nearby Temple of Glory and featured statues of the goddess Themis, Athena, and famous French royal ministers. Poyet also added two new salons to the interior, the Salle des Gardes and the Salon de l'Empereur, which retained much of their original decor, including tromp-l'oeil paintings by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard.

Bourbon Restoration and monarchy of Louis-Philippe -the Chamber of Deputies

In 1814, following the defeat of Napoleon, the Bourbon monarchy was restored under Louis XVIII, who preserved some of the democratic institutions initiated during the Revolution. The government featured a legislature with two houses, and the Palais Bourbon was returned to its aristocratic owner, the Prince of Condé. However, the building had been altered so significantly that it could no longer serve as a residence, and the new government rented a large portion of the Palace to the Chamber of Deputies. One of the first modifications made by the new government was to remove all inscriptions, bas-reliefs, and eagles relating to Napoleon from the building's facades. The Chamber of Deputies continued to rent the space until it purchased the building from the heir of the Prince of Condé in 1827.

The Chamber of Deputies was in a state of disrepair, and a significant renovation was undertaken. Architect Jules de Joly proposed four designs for the hall, but the Chamber opted to keep the original hemicycle shape. Over 300 workers were involved in the project, which continued even during the Revolution of 1830 that led to the downfall of the Bourbon Monarchy. A second project, to construct a library, began in April 1831, and the new interior was completed in September 1832. The new monarch, Louis Philippe, inaugurated the renovated Palais Bourbon on 19 November 1832.

The Deputies' meeting hall underwent significant changes under Joly's plan. While the hemicycle form remained the same, the floor was lowered, increasing the height of the tribune and the President's desk, as well as the ceiling. The addition of a colonnade and balconies created a theatrical stage appearance, with a large painting of Louis-Philippe taking his oath above the tribune. Pradet's statues of "Liberty" and "Public Order" were placed in niches on either side of the tribune, and the four columns of the arch were adorned with statues of Force, Justice, Prudence, and Eloquence.

Joly also repositioned the building, placing the main entrance on the courtyard of honor, where Louis-Philippe would meet a delegation of deputies to open the session. To highlight the entrance, Joly designed a neoclassical portico with four Corinthian columns inspired by the ancient Roman temple of Jupiter Stator. His plan also added three new salons and provided a passage between the wings of the building.

In 1837, a new project began to decorate the exterior, particularly the facade facing the Seine. Rude's Prometheus animating the arts and Pradier's Public Education replaced previous Napoleonic bas-reliefs, while Corton's France supported by Force and Justice replaced the Fronton's original depiction of Napoleon. Joly also commissioned Gayard's statues of France and Liberty, later renamed "Force" and France deposits her ballot in the voting urn, respectively, which were installed during Napoleon III's reign in 1860.

During the reign of Louis-Philippe, Adolphe Thiers, the interior minister and future President of France, oversaw the redecoration of the Assembly. He commissioned Eugène Delacroix, a young painter, to create murals for the Salon du Roi, even though the King despised Delacroix's style. From 1833 to 1838, Delacroix painted allegorical figures representing Justice, Truth, Prudence, War, Industry, and Agriculture, which can still be seen in the Salon Delacroix today. Horace Vernet decorated the Salon de la Paix with allegories showcasing peace in Europe and the expansion of commerce and industry. Abel de Pujol painted scenes from the history of government in France in the third salon.

The reconstruction also included a new library, designed in a highly classical style with five cupolas supported by pillars, and lit by skylights. Delacroix was commissioned to paint the interior, and he created allegorical paintings depicting philosophy, natural history, legislation, eloquence, literature, poetry, and theology, which captured all aspects of civilization.

Despite the new construction, the Chamber of Deputies still lacked sufficient space for meetings and offices. They purchased the west wing of the Palace in 1830 and the Hôtel de Lassay in 1843, and architect Joly was tasked with renovating the buildings. He added another story and restored the original Italianate style, resulting in a more elegant building. However, the work was not completed until after the 1848 French Revolution, which led to the abdication of the King and the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, paving the way for the French Second Republic.

The Second Republic and Second Empire

France underwent a tumultuous period following the February 1848 Revolution. The Chamber of Deputies, elected in 1846, was disbanded and replaced by a Constituent Assembly elected through direct universal suffrage. The Assembly met in a temporary chamber in the garden of the Palais Bourbon, where the French Second Republic was declared on May 4. However, radical factions soon disrupted proceedings, culminating in a failed attempt to seize the government in June. A new National Assembly was elected, and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew of the Emperor, became President.

Louis Napoleon later organized a coup d'état in December 1851, which led to his proclamation as Emperor Napoleon III and the end of the Second Republic. The Assembly was largely marginalized under Napoleon III's reign, with opposition members being arrested and exiled. However, the Emperor eventually liberalized the regime after 1860, granting deputies greater influence and reestablishing freedom of speech and press.

In 1870, the Assembly voted in favor of a war with Prussia, but the French army was quickly defeated and the Emperor captured. On September 2-3, the French Third Republic was established. Despite these turbulent times, the Palais Bourbon remained a site of important political debates and decision-making throughout the era.

The Third Republic

After the defeat at Sedan, a provisional government led by Parliament officials attempted to continue the war, but Paris soon fell under German siege. The leader of the provisional government, Léon Gambetta, had to flee Paris by balloon, while the Assembly relocated to Bordeaux and later to Versailles. In March 1871, the Paris Commune took control of the city, but it was crushed by the French Army in May. Although the Palais Bourbon was spared from destruction, other government buildings were set on fire during the Commune's final days. The Assembly returned to Paris soon after the suppression of the Commune, but the Senate remained in Versailles until November 1879.

During the Third Republic, the Palais Bourbon served as the primary institution of the French government, with the Assembly selecting the President of France and controlling finances and foreign policy. The chamber was divided between constitutional monarchists and conservatives on the right and moderate and radical republicans and socialists on the left. The Assembly witnessed heated debates and occasional turbulence, such as during the Dreyfus affair when a socialist leader was assaulted by a monarchist deputy, and a bomb exploded in the gallery in 1890. While the Assembly declared war in 1914 and celebrated victory in 1918, it was deeply divided in the 1930s and failed to manage the economic crisis and the impending threat of World War II. Various plans to expand the meeting space were considered between 1879 and 1913 but none were approved.

World War II, and the Fourth and Fifth Republics

During World War II, as the German army approached Paris in June 1940, the government and Assembly abandoned the city and relocated to Tours, Bordeaux, and finally Vichy under the Pétain Government. The Palais Bourbon was used by the Germans as a military court for the Luftwaffe, and also housed the offices of the French bureau responsible for sending workers to German factories. The Seine facade of the Palace was adorned with German propaganda banners. In August 1944, during the liberation of Paris, the Palace suffered significant damage, including a fire in the library that destroyed 20,000 books.

In a daring move, Philippe de Gaulle, son of Charles de Gaulle, was sent alone and unarmed from Montparnasse Station on 25 August 1944 with orders for the German troops entrenched in the National Assembly at the Palais Bourbon to surrender. Despite the risk of being killed, he successfully negotiated their surrender.

After the war, the Fourth Republic was established in 1946 with a new Constitution that brought modern technology, such as the first microphones for speakers, to the Palais Bourbon. However, the Fourth Republic was plagued by a large number of political parties and unstable coalitions that frequently collapsed. The Algerian Crisis of 1956 ultimately led to the downfall of the Fourth Republic, and the adoption of a new Constitution and the establishment of the Fifth Republic, which remains in existence today.

The Court of Honor

The primary entrance to the Palais, constructed during its inception, is the Court of Honor located towards its southern side. While the entrance has undergone significant changes in the 1830s, with the installation of a ceremonial portico, its original structure still remains intact. The sculptures placed on either side of the entrance signify Universal Suffrage and the Law, and were incorporated during the Second Empire in 1860. The central courtyard features a granite ball placed on a pedestal, referred to as the Sphere of Human Rights, which was crafted by American sculptor Walter De Maria in 1989, commemorating the bicentennial of the French Revolution.

The Meeting Chamber

The meeting chamber of the Palais Bourbon, known as the salle des Séances, retains its original appearance and layout from 1832. As per the French Constitution, the Assembly convenes for nine months starting from October until June, but can be called for a special session by the President of the Republic at any time. The 577 deputies, who serve five-year terms, sit in a hemicycle with those on the left representing the socialists and other left-wing parties, while those on the right represent more conservative parties. The President of the Assembly sits in the Perchoir, a desk positioned high on the chamber wall at the height of the highest back row, indicating that they are a deputy like the others. The armchair was designed by Jacques-Louis David for the Council of Five Hundred, the first legislature to meet in the building.

Deputies cast their votes using an electronic button, and the tally appears on a screen at the front of the chamber. While the public can attend the sessions of the Chamber, access must be requested through a deputy's office. The proceedings are also streamed live on the Assembly's website.

The Salons

During Louis-Philippe's reign, the Palais Bourbon's salons were decorated by notable artists, including Eugène Delacroix.

The Salle Casimir-Périer is a corridor inspired by ancient Roman basilicas, connecting the Assembly Chamber to the salons and the Courtyard of Honor. It features a massive bronze bas-relief by Jules Dalou depicting the first meetings of the Assembly during the French Revolution, along with six statues representing resistance to absolute governments and popular sedition and celebrating the authors of the French Civil Code.

The Salon Delacroix was decorated with four allegorical figures representing the living forces of the State, and is now a gathering place for Deputies of the Left.

The Salle des Pas-Perdus is a formal hall decorated with paintings by Horace Vernet, featuring a centerpiece painting of Peace distributing her benefits flanked by the Genius of steam and the Genius of Steam chasing the gods of the Sea.

The Salon Abel de Pujol is named after artist Abel de Pujol and features neoclassical grisailles illustrating the role of French monarchs in the establishment of law.

The Salon des quatre colonnes features several works of sculpture, including busts of famous deputies and a marble monument showing the names of Deputies killed in the First World War, and is used for stand-up television interviews with Deputies during Assembly sessions.

The Library

Built in the 1830s, the Library is an impressive structure attached to the side of the original Palais. Designed by architect Jules de Joly in the style of ancient Roman baths, the Library boasts five cupolas supported by pillars that provide natural light. Curved bays seal off each end of the room, while Eugène Delacroix and a team of assistants decorated the space between 1838 and 1847. The ceiling paintings depict different branches of knowledge such as poetry, theology, legislation, philosophy, and the sciences. The themes are illustrated with stories from antiquity rather than French history, featuring the great thinkers of the time such as Ovid, Demosthenes, Herodotus, and Aristotle. Scenes of the dangers to democracy and civilization, such as the death of Saint John the Baptist, the death of Seneca the Younger, and the murder of Archimedes by a Roman soldier are also depicted. The large paintings at either end of the Library show Orpheus bringing the benefits of arts and civilization and Attila and his barbarian hordes at the feet of Italy and the Arts.

The Library's collection comprises books seized from the libraries of the clergy and aristocracy who fled Paris during the Revolution, along with many rare items donated to the Assembly. These include the Jean-Jacques Rousseau manuscripts donated by his widow in 1794, the Codex Borbonicus, an Aztec codex written by Aztec priests shortly before or after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and the minutes of Joan of Arc's trial. However, the Library is reserved solely for the use of the members of the Assembly and their staffs and is not open to the public.

The Salle des Conferences and Deputies Buffet

The Hemicycle features the Salle des Conferences, situated on its east side, which is a spacious room furnished with tables and lamps where Deputies can engage in reading, conversation, and message checking. Originally serving as the dining room of the Prince de Condé, it underwent a transformation in 1830 to its current function. The ceiling boasts lavish paintings by Heim that depict the history of monarchy and parliaments, while near the fireplace are grand historical paintings that center around parliamentary topics, such as Auguste Vinchon's portrayal of Philip le Bel assembling the Estates General in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and Ary Scheffer's depiction of The Patriotic Devotion of the Bourgeois of Calais.

Adjacent to the Salle des Conferences is the Deputies Buffet, constructed in 1994 in the style of the Belle Époque and refurbished in the same style in 1997. Its use is exclusively reserved for current and former Deputies.

Hôtel de Lassay

The Palais Bourbon and adjacent Hôtel de Lassay are significant buildings for the National Assembly of France. The Hôtel de Lassay serves as the official residence of the National Assembly's president and underwent major reconstruction in 1846-48 while preserving its 18th-century style.

The Cabinet du Départ, where the President departs to attend the Assembly session at 3:00 pm, is beautifully decorated with a carpet from the period of Louis XIV and a tapestry depicting the School of Athens by Raphael. The room was originally the study of the house before the Revolution, and the desk was brought from the Chateau of Versailles in 1794.

The Salon des Jeux, located on the ground floor of the residence, is a conference room where the President meets with other Assembly leaders to set the agenda for sessions. It is named after an illustration of a game of lawn bowling by the 18th-century artist Heim.

The Salle des fetes, built between 1846 and 1849, replaced an early wooden passage built in 1809 and is used today for expositions, ceremonies for visiting dignitaries, and the annual New Year's greeting by the President of the Assembly. The Gallery of Tapestries, created in 1860, displays a set of nine Beauvais tapestries, replacing a collection of paintings that were removed in 1865.

Contemporary Art

The Palais Bourbon features various contemporary art installations, including a large granite sphere on a marble pedestal, created by American sculptor Walter De Maria. Installed in the Courtyard of Honor in 1989 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, the sculpture was chosen after an international competition. The granite sphere holds a small gold heart inside.

Belgian artist Pierre Alechinsky's work "The Fragile Garden," created in 1992, can be found in a small rotunda connecting the Hotel de Lassay and the Palais Bourbon. The artwork reflects the words of poet Jean Tardieu: "Men search for the light in a fragile garden where the colors tremble."

The Salon of Marianne, established in 2004, showcases busts of Marianne, the Republic's symbol, from various periods and styles. Since 2015, the room features a piece by American graffiti artist JonOne called "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité," based on Delacroix's famous painting "Liberty Leading the People." The artwork represents youth, the future, and hope.

The Palais Bourbon houses other contemporary works by renowned artists such as Hervé Di Rosa, Djamel Tatah, Vincent Barré, and Fabienne Verdier.