L'ARC DE LA DÉFENSE

La Défense is Europe's largest purpose-built business district with 560 hectares (1,400 acres) area, 72 glass and steel buildings of which 16 are completed skyscrapers, 180,000 daily workers, and 3,500,000 square metres (38,000,000 sq ft) of office space.[1] Around its Grande Arche and esplanade ("le Parvis"), La Défense contains many of the Paris urban area's tallest high-rises.

La Défense is Europe’s largest purpose-built business district to the West of the city of Paris. The district is a showcase of France’s great leap into the 21st century. For many visitors to France who come to Paris with a preset image in their mind, the Business District is rather unexpected and its true value lies in its position at the far end of the Historical Axis. La Défense is indeed the height of the Historical Axis which starts at the Louvre and continues through the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe.

When traveling through Paris, France there are many sights to behold and an abundance of things to do. One particular part of this magnificent city that is a must-see is the district known as La Défense. Once a run-down area with shabby houses and dilapidated farms, officials of the Public Establishment decided that it was time to clean up this area. They rebuilt the space as a salute to the French soldiers who were killed during the Franco-Prussian War. This area became known as La Défense.

La Défense is named after the iconic statue La Défense de Paris by Louis-Ernest Barrias, which was erected in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.

LA DEFFENSE

• However, it was urban architect Perronet who laid out the road in a direct line from the Champs-Elysées in 1766 to the top of the Chantecoq hill which is now the location of the Grande Arche. At that point, the architect shaped a round intersection similar to that on Place de l’Etoile and called it “Etoile de Chantecoq” or “Place de la Demi-Lune” (Half-moon square).