École Militaire

At the south-east end of the Champ-de-Mars park, facing the Eiffel Tower, stands a landmark of the French army: the École Militaire. Its construction began in 1751 on the orders of King Louis XV in order to train the young cadets of the royal army (the country had just come out of the War of the Austrian Succession and had just lost a lot of men and money) and to compete with the prestigious Hôtel des Invalides built under Louis XIV. Over time, the building went through many tribulations (delays in construction, abandonment, looting, etc.) before regaining its initial military function at the end of the 19th century. Among its illustrious pupils, we can mention Napoleon Bonaparte.