| Palais Brongniart | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Paris | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | 2nd arrondissement, Paris, France |
| Coordinates | 48°52′09″N2°20′29″E / 48.86917°N 2.34139°E /48.86917; 2.34139 |
| Construction started | 1808 |
| Completed | 1825 (opening) |
| Inaugurated | 4 November 1826[1] |
| Owner | City of Paris |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart Éloi Labarre |
| Website | |
| https://www.palaisbrongniart.com/ | |
ThePalais Brongniart (French pronunciation:[palɛbʁɔ̃ɲaʁ]; English:Brongniart Palace) is a building inParis that was built at the direction ofNapoleon in the early 19th century to house theParis stock exchange (French:Bourse de Paris).[2] It is located at the Place de la Bourse, in the2nd arrondissement in central Paris. It was named after its initial architect,Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, who died in 1813 prior to its completion. The Palais Brongniart is nowadays used as an events centre, since the trading floor relocated in 1987, followed in 2004 by the last financial institution that was still housed there.
Historically, stock trading took place at several spots in Paris, including rue Quincampoix, rue Vivienne (near thePalais Royal), and the back of theOpéra Garnier (the Paris opera house).
In the early 19th century, the Paris Bourse's activities found a stable location at thePalais Brongniart, orPalais de la Bourse, built to the designs of architectAlexandre-Théodore Brongniart from 1808 to 1813 and completed byÉloi Labarre from 1813 to 1826.[3]
Brongniart had spontaneously submitted his project, which was a rectangularneoclassical Roman temple with a giantCorinthiancolonnade enclosing avaulted andarcaded central chamber. His designs were greatly admired byNapoleon and won Brongniart a major public commission at the end of his career. Initially praised, the building was later attacked for academic dullness. The authorities had required Brongniart to modify his designs, and after Brongniart's death in 1813, Labarre altered them even further, greatly weakening Brongniart's original intentions. From 1901 to 1905, Jean-Baptiste-Frederic Cavel designed the addition of two lateral wings, resulting in a cruciform plan with innumerable columns. According to the architectural historian Andrew Ayers, these alterations "did nothing to improve the reputation of this uninspiring monument."[3]
From the second half of the 19th century, official stock markets in Paris were operated by theCompagnie des agents de change, directed by the elected members of astockbrokers' syndical council. The number of dealers in each of the different trading areas of the Bourse was limited. There were around 60agents de change (the official stockbrokers). Anagent de change had to be a French citizen, benominated by a former agent or his estate, and be approved by the Minister of Finance, and he was appointed by decree of the President of the Republic. Officially, theagents de change could not trade for their own account nor even be a counterpart to someone who wanted to buy or sell securities with their aid; they were strictly brokers, that is, intermediaries. In the financial literature, the Paris Bourse is hence referred to as order-driven market, as opposed to quote-driven markets or dealer markets, where price-setting is handled by a dealer or market-maker. In Paris, onlyagents de change could receive acommission, at a rate fixed by law, for acting as an intermediary. However, parallel arrangements were usual in order to favor some clients' quote[clarification needed]. The Commodities Exchange was housed in the same building until 1889, when it moved to the presentBourse de commerce.[4]Moreover, until about the middle of the 20th century, a parallel market known as"La Coulisse" was in operation.[5]
Until the late 1980s, the market operated as anopen outcry exchange, with theagents de change meeting on the exchange floor of the Palais Brongniart. In 1986, the Paris Bourse started to implement an electronic trading system. This was known generically asCATS (Computer Assisted Trading System), but the Paris version was called CAC (Cotation Assistée en Continu). By 1989, quotations were fully automated. The Palais Brongniart hosted the French financial derivatives exchangesMATIF andMONEP, until they were fully automated in 1998. In the late 1990s, the Paris Bourse launched theEuronext initiative, an alliance of several European stock exchanges.
For the2024 Summer Olympics and2024 Summer Paralympics hosted in Paris, the building served as theTeam USA House. The site was open to ticketed members of the public and included food, shops, and multiple areas to watch the games.[6]
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