Champ de Mars

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View southeast from the top level of the Eiffel Tower, down the Champs de Mars, with the Tour Montparnasse (Montparnasse Tower) in the distance. The Ecole Militaire is one third down from the top of the picture

The Champs de Mars (IPA: [ʃã də mæR(z)]) is a large public green-space in Paris, France, located in the 7th arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius of Rome. In English Champs de Mars means "Field of Mars", from Mars the Roman god of war, from its original use for military training.

The nearest Métro stations are Champs de Mars - Tour Eiffel and École Militaire.

[edit] Champs de Mars Massacre (French Revolution)

During the French Revolution, the Champs de Mars was the setting of the Fête de la Fédération, on the 14 July 1790. It was also the setting of a massacre on July 17, 1791, when a crowd collected to draft a petition seeking the removal of King Louis XVI. This happened just days after the second anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. Soldiers under the orders of the mayor Jean-Sylvain Bailly and the Marquis de Lafayette opened fire.