Élysée Palace

Élysée Palace
Palais de l'Élysée (French)
The palace seen from the Cour d'honneur
Location within Paris
Former names	Hôtel d'Évreux
General information
Location	Paris, France
Address	55, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris, France
Coordinates	48°52′13″N 2°18′59″E / 48.87028°N 2.31639°E / 48.87028; 2.31639
Current tenants	President François Hollande (2012-present)
Construction started	1718
Completed	1722
Client	Henri-Louis de la Tour d'Auvergne
Technical details
Floor count	3
Design and construction
Architect	Armand-Claude Mollet Jean Cailleteau

The Élysée Palace (French: Palais de l'Élysée, pronounced: [pa.lɛ d(ə) le.li.ze]) has been the official residence of the President of France since 1848. Dating to the early 18th century, it contains the office of the President and the meeting place of the Council of Ministers. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the name Élysée deriving from Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology.

Important foreign visitors are hosted at the nearby Hôtel de Marigny, a palatial residence.

The architect Armand-Claude Molet possessed a property fronting on the road to the village of Roule, west of Paris (now the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré), and backing onto royal property, the Grand Cours through the Champs-Élysées. He sold this in 1718 to Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Count of Évreux (families: Dukes and Princes of Bouillon and Sedan: La Marck | von der Marck), with the agreement that Mollet would construct an hôtel particulier for the count, fronted by an entrance court and backed by a garden. The Hôtel d'Évreux was finished and decorated by 1722, and though it has undergone many modifications since, it remains a fine example of the French classical style. At the time of his death in 1753, Évreux was the owner of one of the most widely admired houses in Paris, and it was bought by King Louis XV as a residence for the Marquise de Pompadour, his mistress. Opponents showed their distaste for the regime by hanging signs on the gates that read: "Home of the King's whore". After her death, it reverted to the crown.