The Alma Palace

The palace was built in 1861 by architect Jacques-Martin Tétaz with the aim of creating new stables for the House of Emperor Napoleon III, who demanded to have horses available at all hours. It could accommodate the 130 people responsible for them.

In exchange for the Artois stables and Rue Montagne, the city of Paris agreed in 1859 to construct these buildings designed to house 300 horses, an infirmary, carriage sheds, saddleries, a forge, stores, and a large riding arena. The architects Frémont and Joly continued Tétaz's work, which was completed by Hector-Martin Lefuel. The stables extend on either side of a main courtyard, to which annex courts with access to the quays are attached.

The building was partially allocated to the Advanced War Staff School. In 1881, it became a dependency of the presidency of the Republic for its stables. From 1888 onwards, the meteorology office and the statistics service occupied part of the site, and from 1947, the Office of Meteorology.

The Alma Palace occupies a vast quadrangle located between the Branly Quay to the north, the University Street to the south, bordered by the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity of Paris to the east (the new Russian Orthodox cathedral completed in 2016, built on the site of the former headquarters of Meteo France), while to the west its walls face the Quai Branly Museum. The palace consists of several building blocks surrounding a large central courtyard-garden, an annex courtyard, and a garden on the south side.

The ground floor of the East wing was occupied by Meteo France, and the northern part of the West wing housed the Supreme Council of the Judiciary between 1952 and 2011.

Most of the premises are allocated to various services of the Presidency of the Republic, including the correspondence office, which employs over a hundred people. The palace also houses the gallery of presidential gifts, which successive Presidents of the Republic have received during their travels (but some, like those of Jacques Chirac, were given to the President's museum in Sarran in Corresa, or those of François Mitterrand exhibited at the Septennat Museum in Nièvre).

The building has been classified as a historical monument since an order of October 30, 2002.

A renovation was carried out between 2019 and 2020 to allow the installation of services cramped in their current premises, as well as to transfer the administrative restaurant of the Élysée, which was not up to health standards.

The palace includes sixty-seven official apartments of varying sizes (from 20 m² to 300 m²). These are used to house employees of the Élysée Palace who are subject to significant time constraints, from the Secretary-General to the head chefs. Several members of the French President's cabinet and the special staff are also accommodated there.

The apartments are freely assigned by the president. For instance, François Mitterrand housed Anne Pingeot and their daughter Mazarine in a 300 m² apartment during his presidency when their existence was hidden from the public. It was convenient to house them in a secure location to ease the burden on the Presidential Security Group. François de Grossouvre also lived there during the same period. Alexandre Benalla, deputy to the Chief of Staff of President Emmanuel Macron, was awarded an 80 m² apartment from July 9, 2018 (at a cost of 216 € per month excluding charges), about a week and a half before being taken into custody in the case that bears his name; however, he was fired before he could take possession of the premises. Alexis Kohler and Patrick Strzoda also enjoy accommodations in this palace.

For a long time, these apartments had no legal basis. Their occupants thus did not pay rent, charges, or local taxes. In 2014, recommendations from the Court of Auditors prompted Sylvie Hubac, Chief of Staff to François Hollande, to reform the regulatory basis for the occupation of these apartments.

An occupation fee ranging from 15 to 20%, calculated based on the person's income, was introduced. Free occupancy is ensured so as not to penalize occupants with modest resources and for the absolute necessities of the service. Since then, the occupation contracts stipulate that the allocation of the apartment ceases when the collaborator leaves the presidency, to prevent abuses like the former personal butler of President Jacques Chirac, who remained until 2016.