Apartment Elysees-Palace

The Élysée Palace in Paris is the official office of the President of the French Republic and has served as the president's official residence since the 19th century. Built in the early 18th century, the city mansion stands in the 8th arrondissement on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, north of the Seine. The building was originally constructed between 1718 and 1722 to plans by the architect Armand Claude Mollet for the Count of Évreux. It later passed into the hands of the Marquise de Pompadour, who had the palace stylishly refurbished and the garden expanded before it was bequeathed to King Louis XV. The property changed hands several times among various owners, including bankers and the Duchess of Bourbon. During the French Revolution, the building served for a time as a storehouse for confiscated furniture.

The palace underwent a major transformation under Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law, who acquired it in 1805. He had the magnificent main staircase, which still bears the name Escalier Murat today, and the ballroom built. This Salon Murat now hosts meetings of the French cabinet. Napoleon himself later used the estate as a residence and signed his abdication there in 1814. After the return of the Bourbons and the brief reign of Louis Philippe, the National Assembly declared the palace the official seat of the presidents of the Second Republic by decree in 1848. This function was not firmly established, however, until the Third Republic began in 1873. The palace is also known internationally as the place where the Élysée Treaty between France and Germany was signed in 1963.

Today the building serves as both the workplace and the residence of the French president, with the private residence located in the east wing. The palace houses a large staff of officials led by a secretary-general and includes numerous advisers on politics, economics, and culture. In the Court of Honor, foreign politicians on working visits are welcomed by the Republican Guard. While the palace itself is a protected seat of government, many other staff members work in the surrounding buildings along the Rue de l'Élysée, which is closed to through traffic. The estate thus embodies not only France's historical development from monarchy to republic but is also the operational center of the French executive branch.