Home»Paris + environs 2014»La Défense, Paris

The quarter of La Défense is a major business district of Paris with many skyscrapers and other office buildings. It is named after the La Défense de Paris sculpture commemorating the soldiers who defended Paris when it came under siege during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1. Though the war was begun by Napoleon III, due to its poor execution he was deposed and the war ended under the Third Republic. The turmoil engendered by the war led to the Paris Commune rebellion of 1871. La Défense is home to some of the tallest buildings in Europe and is visited by many tourists. There are many large scale artworks scattered about its plaza. Its Grande Arche is at the western end of the central axis of Paris with, in order, the Arc de Triomphe d'Etoile, the Obelisk of the Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and the Louvre towards the eastern end.