École militaire

Paris,

France

1 Pl. Joffre, 75007, Paris, France

Located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, southeast of the Champ de Mars, the École Militaire is a collection of buildings that serve as a hub for a variety of military training facilities. King Louis XV founded it in 1750, and it was designed and constructed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel. The building is an operational military academy and has been classified as a national monument since 1990. Visitors can explore the site during the European Heritage Days.

Origins of the institution

Louis XV established L'École Militaire in 1750 after the War of the Austrian Succession, following a proposal by Marshal Maurice de Saxe and with the backing of Madame de Pompadour and financier Joseph Paris Duverney. Before this, military academies were only available to children of noble birth and provided internships in the King's Stables or the stables of other members of the royal family. However, L'École Militaire aimed to create an academic institution for cadet officers from less wealthy noble families, thereby eliminating the exclusivity that had previously been associated with royal military academies.

In January 1751, King Louis XV issued an edict establishing the institution, which was intended to educate five hundred noble young men who were born without fortune. Article XI of the edict stipulated that the tax on playing cards would be the first perpetual endowment. The Secretary of State for War was entrusted with its administration. The Royal Military Academy encompassed a number of military colleges in the provinces, such as the School of Brienne, which admitted students based on evidence of their nobility. At the end of their schooling, admission to the Royal Military School in Paris was granted through a national competition.

Architecture

In 1752, Ange-Jacques Gabriel was commissioned by the King to design a building that would surpass the grandeur of Louis XIV's Hôtel des Invalides. The construction began on the grounds of Grenelle farm and after a lengthy building process, the school was opened in 1760. Gabriel's design boasted impressive facades and a water system that ran through a network of wells and pipes, making it much larger and more remarkable than the Invalides.

In 1777, the Comte de Saint-Germain restructured the establishment under the name École des Cadets-gentilshommes (School of Young Gentlemen), which enrolled a young Napoleon Bonaparte in 1784. Bonaparte graduated in just one year instead of the typical two.

Today, the building houses the École de guerre (College of Warfare), the Ecole de Guerre-Terre (EdG-T), and the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defense).