Élysée Palace

first      previous      next      last     

This is the palais de l’Élysée /palɛ də lelize/, the official residence of the French President. It is the equivalent of the American White House, or 10 Downing Street in the United Kingdom.

The current name of the palace derives from its proximity to the avenue des Champs-Élysées, which is behind the garden that is behind the palace. The building is both the official residence and the official workplace of the French Président de la République, but some presidents (such as François Mitterrand) have preferred to live in their existing homes or apartments, coming to the palace only to work. Presidents Mitterrand and Sarkozy have also insisted that vehicular traffic be restricted to one side of the street in front of the palace, whereas Chirac did not impose any such royal prerogatives, and traffic was unrestricted.

You are looking roughly southeast, late in the day. The flag flies over the palace when the President is home (that is, when he is in France—it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is in the building).

Photographed on September 23, 2001.