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.

7th arrondissement of Paris
Municipal arrondissement
View of the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, two landmarks of the 7th arrondissement
View of the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, two landmarks of the 7th arrondissement
Location within Paris
Location within Paris
Coordinates: 48°51′33″N 2°18′46″E
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentParis
CommuneParis
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Rachida Dati (LR)
Area
4.09 km2 (1.58 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[1]
48,520
 • Density11,863/km2 (30,730/sq mi)
INSEE code75107
Paris Coat of Arms
Paris Coat of Arms
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 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,[2] 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.[3] The 7th arrondissement of Paris and Neuilly-sur-Seine form the most affluent and prestigious residential area in France.[4]

History
Construction of Hôtel de Salm, 1787. Paris, Musée Carnavalet.
Exposition Universelle in 1889, the entrance arch is known as the Eiffel Tower

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[5] (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.[3] 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 (1.578 sq mi, 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. pr 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
2009 57,442 14,045

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%
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such as Pieds-Noirs in 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), as well as to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. A foreign country is understood as a country not part of France in 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.

2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. 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.

Cityscape
  • Champ-de-Mars view from the top of the Eiffel Tower
    Champ-de-Mars view from the top of the Eiffel Tower
  • The Eiffel Tower
    The Eiffel Tower
  • St. Louis Chapel of the Hôtel des Invalides view from avenue de Breteuil
    St. Louis Chapel of the Hôtel des Invalides view from avenue de Breteuil
  • Inside Hôtel des Invalides's Chapel
    Inside Hôtel des Invalides's Chapel
  • View of rue de Solférino from the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor bridge
    View of rue de Solférino from the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor bridge
  • The Seine and the 7th arrondissement as seen from the Eiffel Tower
    The Seine and the 7th arrondissement as seen from the Eiffel Tower
  • Typical Parisian architecture in the 7th arrondissement
    Typical Parisian architecture in the 7th arrondissement

Places of interest

Important places include:

Art and industry

Economy

Air Liquide,[6] Alcatel-Lucent,[7] and Valode & Pistre have their head offices in this arrondissement.[8]

Education

Public and private high schools:

Istituto Statale Italiano Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian international school, maintains two campuses in the arrondissement.[9] The American University of Paris, a private liberal arts university, maintains several buildings near the Quai d'Orsay.[10]

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. [11][12]

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.

ElectionWinning candidateParty%
2017 Emmanuel Macron EM 88.07
2012 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 71.76
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 74.75
2002 Jacques Chirac RPR 89.17
1981 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing UDF 71.44

Sport

The arrondissement hosted the equestrian events for the 1900 Summer Olympics.[13]

References
  1. "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  2. "Chapel of our Lady of the Miraculous Medal". Paris Digest. 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  3. Balzac explains the very specific Faubourg's aristocratic way of life in his novel La Duchesse de Langeais
  4. Drouin, Olivier (22 August 2013). "Les 80 communes où se concentrent les plus hauts revenus". Capital.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  5. Hotels particuliers
  6. "Legal notice." Air Liquide. Retrieved on 7 July 2010.
  7. "Alcatel-Lucent Fact Sheet Archived 2010-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 August 2011 "Headquarters 3 av. Octave Gréard 75007 Paris, France"
  8. Valode & Pistre Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine (in English) - Select "Contact". Valode & Pistre. Retrieved on 2 July 2010. "115 rue du Bac 75007 PARIS - FRANCE
  9. "L'OFFERTA FORMATIVA ITALIANA NELLA CIRCOSCRIZIONE CONSOLARE DI PARIGI Archived 24 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine." Italian Consulate in Paris. Retrieved on 19 October 2015. "Amministrazione, Scuola Media e Liceo Scientifico 12 rue Sédillot - 75007 Parigi" and "Scuola Elementare 3 bis Avenue de Villars - 75007 Parigi" - See map
  10. "University History | The American University of Paris". aup.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  11. " 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"
  12. "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"
  13. 1900 Summer Olympics official report Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. p. 16. Accessed 14 November 2010. (in French)
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