The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius ("Mars Field") in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war. The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military. The nearest Métro stations are

La Motte-Picquet–Grenelle La Motte-Picquet–Grenelle () is a station of the Paris Métro, at the interconnection of line 6, line 8, and line 10 in the 15th arrondissement. The station combines underground and elevated platforms. It is a major métro interchange on the ...

, École Militaire, and Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, an RER suburban-commuter-railway station. A disused station, Champ de Mars, is also nearby.

History

Originally, the Champ de Mars was part of a large flat open area called Grenelle, which was reserved for market gardening. Citizens would claim small plots and exploit them by growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers for the local market. However, the plain of Grenelle was not an especially fertile place for farming. The construction, in 1765, of the '' École Militaire'' designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form. Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of the school, the current location of the '' place de Fontenoy''. The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars. The planners leveled the ground, surrounded it with a large ditch and a long avenue of elms, and, as a final touch, the esplanade was enclosed by a fine grille-work fence. The Isle of Swans, formerly a

riverine A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

islet at the location of the northeastern foot of the Eiffel Tower, was, for the sake of symmetry and pleasing perspectives, attached to the shore. (Note that the Isle of Swans discussed here should not be confused with the Isle of Swans that sits in the middle of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

downstream and around the next bend in the river, between the fifteenth and sixteenth arrondissements.) Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon from the Champ-de-Mars on 27 August 1783. This place witnessed the spectacle and pageantry of some of the best-remembered festivals of the French Revolution. On 14 July 1790 the first "Federation Day" celebration (''fête de la Fédération''), now known as Bastille Day, was held on the Champ de Mars, exactly one year after the storming of the prison. The following year, on 17 July 1791, the massacre on the Champ de Mars took place. Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first mayor of Paris, became a victim of his own revolution and was guillotined there on 12 November 1793. The Champ de Mars was also the site of the

Festival of the Supreme Being The Cult of the Supreme Being (french: Culte de l'Être suprême) was a form of deism established in France by Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. It was intended to become the state religion of the new French Republic and a re ...

on 8 June 1794. With a design by the painter

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

, a massive "Altar of the Nation" was built atop an artificial mountain and surmounted by a tree of liberty. The festival is regarded as the most successful of its type in the Revolution. During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

a restored Napoleon held the Champ de Mai ceremony, during which he swore to uphold the

Charter of 1815 The Charter of 1815, signed on April 22, 1815, was the French constitution prepared by Benjamin Constant at the request of Napoleon I when he returned from exile on Elba. More correctly known as the "Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Em ...

, at the Champ de Mars. The Champ de Mars was the site of Expositions Universelles in

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

In art, culture, film and sport

Art and culture

In 2012, the United Buddy Bears exhibit was held on the Champ de Mars, an international art exhibition with more than 140 two-meter-tall bears representing individual countries. They promote peace, love, tolerance and international understanding and are displayed across the planet. They stand at Champ de Mars in Paris, fronting the Eiffel Tower.

Use in film and television

Champ de Mars was used as a filming location in the 1985 James Bond film '' A View to a Kill'', in which Bond (played for the last time by

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

) drove a Renault 11 taxi which he had hijacked at the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a mysterious assassin, later revealed to be May Day (

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Sports

The Champ de Mars will be the site of Beach Volleyball at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

and of five-a-side football at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Paralympic Games, Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), commonly known as the Games of the XVII Paralympiad, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international Multi-sport event, multi-sport paraspo ...

Gallery

File:Fête de la Fédération 1790, Musée de la Révolution française - Vizille.jpg, Illustration of the ''Fête de la Fédération'' at Champ de Mars, July 14 , 1790 ( Musée de la Révolution française). File:Jaures-Histoire Socialiste-I-p733.PNG, Illustration of massacre on the Champ-de-Mars, 1791. File:Fête de l'Etre suprême 2.jpg, Painting of ''The Festival of the Supreme Being'', June 8, 1794 (by Pierre-Antoine Demachy, 1794). File:Fête de la Concorde, arrivée des corporations au Champ-de-Mars.jpg, Illustration of

Fête de la Concorde The Fête de la Concorde was a festival held at the Champ-de-Mars in Paris, France. The architect Henri Labrouste and the painter Pierre-Victor Galland contributed to the decoration of the festival in 1848.

, May 21, 1848. File:Exposition Universelle 1867.jpg, Photograph of Exposition Universelle, 1867. File:Panorama des Palais.JPG, Panoramic view of Exposition Universelle, 1878. File:Tour Eiffel exposition universelle 1889.jpg, View of Exposition Universelle, 1889. File:Expo universelle paris 1900.JPG, Illustration of Exposition Universelle, 1900. File:Champ-de-Mars.jpg, Champ de Mars at night (2007). File:Eiffel Tower and Mars fields.jpg, Champ de Mars - view from the Montparnasse Tower (2010) File:North end of Champ de Mars and Quai Branly - As viewed from the Eiffel Tower (2016).jpg, The north end of Champ de Mars and Quai Branly - As viewed from the Eiffel Tower (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champ De Mars Parks and open spaces in Paris World's fair sites in Paris Exposition Universelle (1900) Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris Venues of the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball venues