The 7th arrondissement of Paris (VII<sup>e</sup> arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is known for being, along with the 16th arrondissement and the suburban commune of Neuilly-sur-Seine, among the wealthiest places in France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is referred to as ("the seventh").
The arrondissement, called Palais-Bourbon in a reference to the seat of the National Assembly, includes some of the major and well-known tourist attractions of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the (Napoleon's resting place), the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, as well as a concentration of museums such as the Musée d'Orsay, Musée Rodin and the .
Situated on the Rive Gauche—the "Left" bank of the River Seine—this central arrondissement, which includes the historical aristocratic neighbourhood of Faubourg Saint-Germain, contains a number of French national institutions, among them the National Assembly and numerous government ministries. It is also home to many foreign diplomatic embassies, some of them occupying outstanding .
The arrondissement has been home to the French upper class since the 17th century, when it became the new residence of France's highest nobility. The district has been so fashionable within the French aristocracy that the phrase le Faubourg—referring to the ancient name of the current 7th arrondissement—has been used to describe French nobility ever since. The 7th arrondissement of Paris and Neuilly-sur-Seine form the most affluent and prestigious residential area in France.
History
thumb|Construction of [[Hôtel de Salm, 1787. Paris, Musée Carnavalet.]]
thumb|[[Exposition Universelle (1889)|Exposition Universelle in 1889, the entrance arch is known as the Eiffel Tower]]
During the 17th century, French high nobility started to move from the central Marais, the then-aristocratic district of Paris where nobles used to build their urban mansions (see Hotel de Soubise), to the clearer, less populated and less polluted Faubourg Saint-Germain.
The district became so fashionable within the French aristocracy that the phrase le Faubourg has been used to describe French nobility ever since. The 7th arrondissement borders the left bank of the Seine to the north, Rue des Saints-Pères to the east, and Rue de Sèvres to the south-east.
Demography
The 7th arrondissement attained its peak population in 1926 when it had 110,684 inhabitants. Because it is the location of so many French government bodies, this arrondissement has never been as densely populated as some of the others. In 1999, the population was 56,985, while the arrondissement provided 76,212 jobs.
Historical population
{| class="wikitable"
! Year<br />(of French censuses)
! Population
! Density<br />(inh. pr km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
| 1872
| 78,553
| 19,206
|-
| 1926
| 110,684
| 27,075
|-
| 1954
| 104,412
| 25,529
|-
| 1962
| 99,584
| 24,360
|-
| 1968
| 87,811
| 21,480
|-
| 1975
| 74,250
| 18,163
|-
| 1982
| 67,461
| 16,502
|-
| 1990
| 62,939
| 15,396
|-
| 1999
| 56,985
| 13,940
|-
| 2009
| 57,442
| 14,045
|}
Immigration
Notable residents
- Simone Veil (1927–2017)
- Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt
Cityscape
<gallery>
File:Champ de Mars from the Eiffel Tower - July 2006 edit.jpg|Champ-de-Mars view from the top of the Eiffel Tower
File:Jielbeaumadier tour eiffel paris 2007.jpg|The Eiffel Tower
File:Invalides 2007 03 11.jpg|St. Louis Chapel of the view from avenue de Breteuil
File:Dome hotel des invalides.JPG|Inside 's Chapel
File:Rue de Solférino vue depuis la passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor.jpg|View of rue de Solférino from the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor bridge
File:Seine and 7th Arrondissement June 2010.jpg|The Seine and the 7th arrondissement as seen from the Eiffel Tower
File:Typical Paris Apartment.jpg|Typical Parisian architecture in the 7th arrondissement
</gallery>
Quarters
thumb|250px|The quarters of the 7th arrondissement
- Quartier Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin (25)
- Quartier Invalides (26)
- Quartier École-Militaire (27)
- Quartier Gros-Caillou (28)
Places of interest
300px|thumb|right
Important places include:
- , meeting place of the National Assembly
- Eiffel Tower
- Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Paris
- Hôtel Matignon
- , historic building, home to the Italian embassy in Paris.
- Hôtel de Besenval
- Champ de Mars
- Musée d'Orsay
- Maison Gainsbourg
- Maison de Verre
- Musée du quai Branly
- Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie
- Musée Maillol
- Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
- Musée Rodin
- Musée Valentin Haüy
- Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)
- Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Paris
- Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou
Art and industry
- Musée du quai Branly
- Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie
- Musée Maillol
- Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
- Musée Rodin
- Musée Valentin Haüy
- National Horticultural Society of France
Economy
Air Liquide, Alcatel-Lucent, and Valode & Pistre have their head offices in this arrondissement.
Education
Public and private high schools:
- Lycée Victor-Duruy
- Établissement La Rochefoucauld
- Institut de l'Alma
- Lycée-collège Paul-Claudel
- Lycée d'Hulst
- Lycée Sainte-Jeanne Elisabeth
- Lycée Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin
- Lycée Thérèse-Chappuis
Istituto Statale Italiano Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian international school, maintains two campuses in the arrondissement. The American University of Paris, a private liberal arts university, maintains several buildings near the Quai d'Orsay.
Government
The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Education have their head offices in the arrondissement.
Politically, the arrondissement is situated firmly on the right. The mayor of the 7th, Rachida Dati, was Minister of Justice under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency and a member of the European Parliament for the centre-right UMP from 2009 to 2019.
In the 2017 French presidential election, the 7th gave right-wing candidate François Fillon 52.7% of its votes in the first round, compared to his poor national showing of only 20%. It then went on to vote for Emmanuel Macron in the runoff by a landslide.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Winning candidate!!Party!!%
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2017
| Emmanuel Macron
| EM
| 88.07
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2012
| Nicolas Sarkozy
| UMP
| 71.76
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2007
| Nicolas Sarkozy
| UMP
| 74.75
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2002
| Jacques Chirac
| RPR
| 89.17
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 1981
| Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
| UDF
| 71.44
|}
Sport
The arrondissement hosted the equestrian events for the 1900 Summer Olympics.