(Illustrative example of a good team power point presentation)

New constitution (1958) strengthened the presidency

Other reforms◦ Education◦ Social security◦ Stabilized currency

Gaullist are one of the two main political currents in France

1960’s stimulate the city’s emergence as a major international metropolis.

1960- PADOG was adopted 1965- Schema Directeur became official

policy Goals

◦ Change traffic patterns◦ Create signature buildings that glorified French

culture

Served as French President 1981-1995

Socialist Favored a less

ambitious plan Overriding goal:

to leave his personal mark on the Paris landscape

Newly constructed landmarks transformed the city into an international metropolis

Paris became an important center of culture and the arts

Projects initiated by Mitterrand are some of the more famous landmarks in France today

Gaullist view of functions of urban environment of Paris◦ reinforce French centralism ◦ Reinforce perceptions of French dominance in

Western Europe◦ Proclaim French power on the international

scene◦ Serve as a counter to U.S. power and influence

Militarily and economically France could not rise above the status of a second rank power

Signature projects proclaimed the cultural the grandeur of French culture to all of Europe

Projects created resources for dispensing patronage

The Louvre

Mitterrand hand picked American architect I.P. Pei to design the remodel of the famous Louvre

Opposed by the conservative French at first review

Mitterrand willed the project through the French government

French National Library (Bibliothèque de France)

Commissioned by Mitterrand after the success of the Louvre project.

Designed by Dominique Perrault. Cost: $1.5 billion U.S. Chosen for its grandeur and open spaces.

Problems with glass construction Problems with staffing Exorbitant costs

La Grande Arche

Designer: Johann Otto von Spreckelsen

Over 350 feet tall Victory arches of the

past merged with the economy and culture of the present

Over 95,000 square meters of office space

Popular with French nationalists

Museum's stated goal: to treat non-Western art with the same deference that, the Louvre gives to Greek, Roman and Renaissance art

Stands on a prime piece of real estate, ◦ Left Bank of the Seine, ◦ One block from the Eiffel Tower.

Founded upon conviction of — the equal dignity of the cultures of the world —(President Jaques Chirac)

A cultural monument to Chirac’s two terms in office?

1) In what ways do the French ruling classes associate architectural grandeur with nationalism?

2) What are the most important differences in the kind of architectural projects favored by the Gaullists and Socialists

To what extent do you think that ordinary Frenchmen experience the feelings of the ruling elites when they experience the architectural grandeur of Paris?