French Political System Exploration: The Élysée Palace

The First Republic didn’t care for a presidential palace. The revolutionaries, back in 1792, wanted no president, much less a king. When they cut off the head of the monarchy, they did not want anything that so much as smelled like it.

When France dusted off the idea of a president in 1848, the monarchists couldn’t quite settle on which king to resurrect.

So, they handed over the power to a President, enough to make laws, and dissolve assemblies. And they overwhelmingly voted for Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew of the first Napoleon.

As one historian put it, how would a Bonaparte make peace with a monarchist legislature in a republic?

Meanwhile, France made the Élysée Palace the official residence for their new President. Built in the 18th century as a countryside retreat for the Count of Évreux, whose in-laws just so happened to be one of the richest families in the kingdom.

After the revolution, it ended up as Napoleon I’s little retreat. It was in the Salon d’Argent, where he signed his abdication in 1815.

And in 1851, in that same room, Louis-Napoleon strangled the Second Republic.

It was December 1, and the grand ball whirled on as it did every Monday evening. As the hour drew near eleven, shadows slipped to the Salon d’Argent. The Minister of War. The Chief of Police. The Duke of Morny. Then Louis-Napoleon walked in, calm, leaving his guests behind. He pulled a small key from his pocket, opened a drawer, and took out a folder marked “Rubicon.” These were the plans for the coup d’état that would happen that night.

Fast-forward to 1871, Prussian soldiers marched through Paris. The rule of Napoleon III ended in humiliation. And France stumbled back into a republic. And this time, the president’s gig was no more than to inaugurate flowers.

The Élysée stayed in its place, though, making its history in the shadows. In 1899, President Félix Faure died there during a one-to-one with his mistress. They say there’s a tunnel from the palace to a nearby house because, of course, there is.

It wasn’t until 1958, with Charles de Gaulle, that the Élysée truly became the center of French presidential life. But even the wartime hero found it “too bourgeois, with no spirit. “Hosting the Kennedys at Versailles in 1961, he asked, “Can you believe we call the Élysée a palace?”

But whether he liked it or not, the Élysée had become France’s White House.

And while presidents could escape to the impressive summer residence on the Riviera, the Élysée remained the symbol of the presidency, where revolution, empire, and monarchy all shook hands—albeit a little awkwardly.

Have you ever visited The Élysée? Please share in the comments below

Hugh Vuillier writes about politics and economics. He publishes the Europe Letter. 

Image credits: All images copyright The Élysée Palace website

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