7th arrondissement of Paris

7th arrondissement of Paris
—  French municipal arrondissement  —
View over the 7th arrondissement, dominated by the Eiffel Tower, and the Invalides.
Paris and its closest suburbs
Country France
Region Île-de-France
Department Paris
Commune Paris
Government
 • Mayor Rachida Dati
Area
 • Total 4.09 km2 (1.6 sq mi)
Population (8 March 1999 census)[p]
 • Total 56,985
 • Estimate (2005) 55,400
 • Density 13,932.8/km2 (36,085.7/sq mi)
^[p] Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).
The
20 arrondissements
of Paris
17th 18th 19th
  8th 9th 10th 11th 20th
16th 2nd 3rd
1st 4th 12th
River Seine
  7th 6th 5th 13th
15th 14th

The 7th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements (administrative districts) of the capital city of France. It includes some of Paris's major tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Hôtel des Invalides (Napoléon's resting place), and a concentration of such world famous museums as the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée du quai Branly.

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

The arrondissement is home to French upper class since the 17th century, when it became the new residence of French 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.[1] France's 2nd richest district in average income, this arrondissement is part of Paris Ouest, alongside the 6th, 8th, 16th arrondissements and Neuilly, and is usually considered the most aristocratic district of the area.

Contents

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[2] (see Hotel de Soubise) to the clearer, less populated and less polluted Faubourg Saint-Germain that soon became the new residence of French highest nobility.

The district became so fashionable within the French aristocracy that the phrase le Faubourg has been used to describe French nobility ever since.[1] 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, or the Hôtel Biron.

After the Revolution many of these mansions, offering magnificent inner spaces, many receptions 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"), referring 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 center of French upper class' social life.

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

Geography

The land area of the arrondissement is 4.088 km² (1.578 sq. miles, or 1,010 acres).

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.

Historical population

Year
(of French censuses)		 Population Density
(inh. per km²)
1872 78,553 19,206
1926 (peak year) 110,684 27,075
1954 104,412 25,529
1962 99,584 24,360
1968 87,811 21,480
1975 74,250 18,163
1982 67,461 16,502
1990 62,939 15,396
1999 56,985 13,940
2005 estimate 55,400 13,552

Immigration

Place of birth of residents of the 7th arrondissement in 1999
Born in Metropolitan France Born outside Metropolitan France
78.3% 21.7%
Born in
Overseas France		 Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth¹ EU-15 immigrants² Non-EU-15 immigrants
0.5% 4.9% 7.4% 8.9%
¹This group is made up largely of pieds-noirs from Northwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), and to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. Note that a foreign country is understood as a country not part of France as of 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics.
²An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. Note that an immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.

Map

Cityscape

Places of interest

Important places include:

Economy

Air Liquide,[3] Alcatel-Lucent,[4] and Valode & Pistre have their head offices in this arrondissement.[5]

Government

The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Education have their head offices in the arrondissement.[6][7]

Sport

The arrondissement hosted the equestrian events for the 1900 Summer Olympics.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Balzac explains the very specific Faubourg's aristocratic way of life in his novel La Duchesse de Langeais
  2. ^ Hotels particuliers in French
  3. ^ "Legal notice." Air Liquide. Retrieved on 7 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Alcatel-Lucent Fact Sheet Retrieved on 17 August 2011 "Headquarters 3 av. Octave Gréard 75007 Paris, France"
  5. ^ Valode & Pistre (English) - Select "Contact". Valode & Pistre. Retrieved on 2 July 2010. "115 rue du Bac 75007 PARIS - FRANCE
  6. ^ "Mentions légales." Ministry of Agriculture. 8 June 2007. Retrieved on 6 May 2011. "Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Alimentation, de la Pêche, de la Ruralité et de l’Aménagement du territoire 78, rue de Varenne - 75349 Paris 07 SP"
  7. ^ "à propos du site - mentions légales - crédits." Ministry of National Education. Retrieved on 6 May 2011. "Ministère de l’éducation nationale, de la jeunesse et de la vie associative Secrétariat général - Délégation à la communication 110 rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris"
  8. ^ 1900 Summer Olympics official report. p. 16. Accessed 14 November 2010. (French)

External links

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