7th arrondissement of Paris

The 7th arrondissement of Paris (VIIe arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as le septième.

The arrondissement, called Palais-Bourbon in a reference to the seat of the National Assembly, includes some of the major and well-known tourist attractions of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Hôtel des Invalides (Napoleon's resting place), the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, as well as a concentration of museums such as the Musée d'Orsay, Musée Rodin and the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.

Situated on the Rive Gauche—the "Left" bank of the River Seine—this central arrondissement, which includes the historical aristocratic neighbourhood of Faubourg Saint-Germain, contains a number of French national institutions, among them the National Assembly and numerous government ministries. It is also home to many foreign diplomatic embassies, some of them occupying outstanding hôtels particuliers.

The arrondissement has been home to the French upper class since the 17th century, when it became the new residence of France's highest nobility. The district has been so fashionable within the French aristocracy that the phrase le Faubourg—referring to the ancient name of the current 7th arrondissement—has been used to describe French nobility ever since. The 7th arrondissement of Paris and Neuilly-sur-Seine form the most affluent and prestigious residential area in France.

History


During the 17th century, French high nobility started to move from the central Marais, the then-aristocratic district of Paris where nobles used to build their urban mansions (see Hotel de Soubise), to the clearer, less populated and less polluted Faubourg Saint-Germain.

The district became so fashionable within the French aristocracy that the phrase le Faubourg has been used to describe French nobility ever since. The oldest and most prestigious families of the French nobility built outstanding residences in the area, such as the Hôtel Matignon, the Hôtel de Salm, and the Hôtel Biron.

After the Revolution many of these mansions, offering magnificent inner spaces, many reception rooms and exquisite decoration, were confiscated and turned into national institutions. The French expression "les ors de la Republique" (literally "the golds of the Republic"), refers to the luxurious environment of the national palaces (outstanding official residences and priceless works of art), comes from that time.

During the Restauration, the Faubourg recovered its past glory as the most exclusive high nobility district of Paris and was the political heart of the country, home to the Ultra Party. After the Fall of Charles X, the district lost most of its political influence but remained the centre of the French upper class' social life.

During the 19th century, the arrondissement hosted no fewer than five Universal Exhibitions (1855, 1867, 1878, 1889, 1900) that have immensely impacted its cityscape. The Eiffel Tower and the Orsay building were built for these Exhibitions (respectively in 1889 and 1900).

Geography
The arrondissement has a total land area of 4.088 km2.

Demography
The 7th arrondissement attained its peak population in 1926 when it had 110,684 inhabitants. Because it is the location of so many French government bodies, this arrondissement has never been as densely populated as some of the others. In 1999, the population was 56,985, while the arrondissement provided 76,212 jobs.

Notable residents

 * Simone Veil (1927–2017)
 * Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt

Places of interest


Important places include:
 * Palais Bourbon, meeting place of the National Assembly
 * Eiffel Tower
 * Hôtel Matignon
 * Hôtel de Boisgelin (Rue de Varenne, Paris), historic building, home to the Italian embassy in Paris.
 * Hôtel de Besenval
 * Champ de Mars
 * Musée d'Orsay
 * École Militaire
 * Hôtel des Invalides
 * Maison de Verre
 * Musée du quai Branly
 * Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie
 * Musée Maillol
 * Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
 * Musée Rodin
 * Musée Valentin Haüy
 * Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)

Art and industry

 * Musée du quai Branly
 * Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie
 * Musée Maillol
 * Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
 * Musée Rodin
 * Musée Valentin Haüy
 * National Horticultural Society of France

Economy
Air Liquide, Alcatel-Lucent, and Valode & Pistre have their head offices in this arrondissement.

Education
Public and private high schools:
 * Lycée Victor-Duruy
 * Établissement La Rochefoucauld
 * Institut de l'Alma
 * Lycée-collège Paul-Claudel
 * Lycée d'Hulst
 * Lycée Sainte-Jeanne Elisabeth
 * Lycée Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin
 * Lycée Thérèse-Chappuis

Istituto Statale Italiano Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian international school, maintains two campuses in the arrondissement. The American University of Paris, a private liberal arts university, maintains several buildings near the Quai d'Orsay.

Government
The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Education have their head offices in the arrondissement.

Politically, the arrondissement is situated firmly on the right. The mayor of the 7th, Rachida Dati, was Minister of Justice under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency and a member of the European Parliament for the centre-right UMP from 2009 to 2019.

In the 2017 French presidential election, the 7th gave right-wing candidate François Fillon 52.7% of its votes in the first round, compared to his poor national showing of only 20%. It then went on to vote for Emmanuel Macron in the runoff by a landslide.

Sport
The arrondissement hosted the equestrian events for the 1900 Summer Olympics.