The (; ) is a French

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

, grouping five , including the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

. Located on the Quai de Conti in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

, the institute manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s and

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

x open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which amounted to a total of over €27 million per year in 2017. Most of these prizes are awarded by the institute on the recommendation of the .

History

The building was originally constructed as the

Collège des Quatre-Nations The Collège des Quatre-Nations ("College of the Four Nations"), also known as the Collège Mazarin after its founder, was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris. It was founded through a bequest by the Cardinal Mazarin. At his d ...

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

, as a school for students from new provinces attached to France under

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. The inscription over the façade reads "JUL. MAZARIN S.R.E. CARD BASILICAM ET GYMNAS F.C.A M.D.C.LXI", attesting that Mazarin ordered its construction in 1661. The Institut de France was established on 25 October 1795, by the

. On 1 January 2018,

Xavier Darcos Xavier Darcos (born 14 July 1947) is a French politician, scholar, civil servant and former Minister of Labour. An ''agrégé'' professor in literature and general inspector of the National Education system, he has been Mayor of Périgueux, ...

took office as the Institut de France's chancellor. Elected in 2017 to succeed

Gabriel de Broglie Gabriel-Marie-Joseph-Anselme de Broglie-Revel (born 21 April 1931) is a French historian and politician. Broglie-Revel was elected to the Académie française in 2001, replacing Alain Peyrefitte. He is a Knight Commander of the Légion d'honneu ...

, he was reelected in 2020. The chancellor acts as the institute's secretary general, whilst the organisation itself is placed under the protection of the president of the republic. File:Institut de France 1898.jpg, Esplanade in front of the institute, 1898 File:TourDeNesleInstitut.jpg, A plaque on the northern wall of the Institut de France shows the ancient location of the

Tour de Nesle The Tour de Nesle () was one of the four large guard towers on the old city wall of Paris, constructed at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II of France and demolished in 1665. The tower was situated on the left (south) bank of the S ...

Académies

(French Academy, concerning the French language) – initiated in 1635, suppressed in 1793, and restored in 1803 as a division of the institute. *

Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...

(Academy of Humanities) – initiated 1663. *

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

(Academy of Sciences) – initiated 1666. *

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

(Academy of Fine Arts) – created 1816 as the merger of: ** The

Académie de peinture et de sculpture An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

(Academy of Painting and Sculpture, initiated 1648); ** The Académie de musique (Academy of Music, initiated 1669) and; ** The

Académie d'architecture The Académie d'Architecture () is a French learned society whose purpose is the recognition of architectural quality. Founded in 1840 as the Société Centrale des Architectes (; en, "Central Society of Architects"), the society was renamed Ac ...

(Academy of Architecture, initiated 1671). *

Académie des sciences morales et politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

(Academy of Moral and Political Sciences) – initiated 1795, suppressed 1803, reestablished 1832.

Influence

The

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

, initiated in 1882, was modeled after the Institut de France and the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

of London. The

Lebanese Academy of Sciences The Lebanese Academy of Sciences, known officially by its French name Académie des Sciences du Liban (ASL), is a learned society dedicated to promoting the growth, invigoration, and dissemination of the sciences in Lebanon, and to fostering a wo ...

, known officially by its French name "Académie des Sciences du Liban" (ASL), is broadly fashioned after the French Academy of Sciences, with which it continues to develop joint programmes.

References

External links

* *
Notes on the Institut de France from the Scholarly Societies project
{{Authority control National academies Learned societies of France 1795 establishments in France Organizations established in 1795 Organizations based in Paris Les Neuf Sœurs Domes

History

Académies

Influence

See also

References

External links