Editing La Défense (section)

==History==
[[File:La Grande Arche de la Défense and the Yaacov Agam Fountain (1977).jpg|thumb|290px|La [[Grande Arche]] de la Défense and the [[Yaacov Agam]] Fountain (1977). The bronze sculpture on the left, seen from the rear, is ''[[La Défense de Paris]]'' by [[Louis-Ernest Barrias]], after which La Défense is named.]]
[[File:Eiffel Tower from the Tour Montparnasse 3, Paris May 2014.jpg|thumb|290px|[[Paris]], with the skyscrapers of La Défense in the background and the [[Eiffel Tower]] in the foreground taken in 2014]]
[[File:Grande Arche de La Défense et fontaine.jpg|thumb|290px|The [[Grande Arche]] is the central and defining building of ''La Défense''. It is, with the [[Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile]] and the [[Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel]], the third arch on the [[Axe historique|Historical Axis of Paris]].]]
La Défense is named after the statue ''[[La Défense de Paris]]'' by [[Louis-Ernest Barrias]], which was erected in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had [[Siege of Paris (1870–1871)|defended Paris]] during the [[Franco-Prussian War]].

In September 1958, the {{ill|Établissement public pour l'aménagement de la région de la Défense|lt=Public Establishment for Installation of La Défense|fr}} (EPAD) buildings (of which the [[Esso Tower]] was the first) were constructed and began to slowly replace the city's factories, shanties, and even a few farms. The [[Centre of New Industries and Technologies]] (CNIT) was built and first used in 1958. These "first generation" skyscrapers were all very similar in appearance, limited to a height of {{convert|100|m|ft}}. In 1966, the [[Nobel Tower]] was the first office skyscraper built in the area. In 1970, the [[Réseau express régional|RER]] [[RER A|line A]] railway was opened from [[La Défense (station)|La Défense]] to [[Charles de Gaulle – Étoile (Paris Métro and RER)|Étoile]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portrait of the RER A |url=https://www.ratp.fr/en/travaux-ete-rer/portrait-rer |access-date=2018-01-31 |publisher=RATP}}</ref> In 1974, a contract for a Défense-[[Cergy]] [[aérotrain|high-speed hovercraft train]] was signed and soon abandoned.

In the early 1970s, in response to great demand, a second generation of buildings began to appear, but the [[1973 oil crisis|economic crisis in 1973]] nearly halted all construction in the area. A third generation of towers began to appear in the early 1980s. The biggest shopping centre in Europe (at the time), the ''Quatre Temps'', was created in 1981. In 1982, the EPAD launched the ''Tête Défense'' competition to find a monument to complete the ''[[Axe historique]]'', which eventually led to the construction of [[Grande Arche]] at the west end of the quarter. During the same period, hotels were constructed, the CNIT was restructured, and in 1992, [[Paris Métro Line 1|Line 1]] of the [[Paris Métro]] was extended to La Défense, which made the area readily accessible to more of the city.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}

On [[Bastille Day]] 1990, French electronic composer [[Jean-Michel Jarre]] staged an ambitious concert at the site, using the Grande Arche and three of the area's towers as projection screens, and building a pyramidal stage above the road. The free concert, titled [[Paris la Défense]], attracted two million spectators, stretching all the way back to the [[Arc de Triomphe]]. This beat Jarre's own previous world record for the largest attendance for a musical concert. After Jean Michel Jarre, German DJ [[Sash!]] and the singer [[La Trec]] set the video clip for their song ''Stay'' at La Défense in 1997.

After a stagnation in new development in the mid-1990s, La Défense is once again expanding and is now the largest purpose-built business district in Europe.

Major corporations headquartered at La Défense include [[Neuf Cegetel]], [[Société Générale]], [[TotalEnergies]], [[Aventis]], [[Areva]], and [[Arcelor]]. The tallest skyscraper, the [[Tour First]] belongs to [[AXA]], constructed in 1974. It is {{convert|231|m|ft}} high, has 50 floors, and is the highest inhabited building in the Paris area. This title was previously held by the [[Tour Montparnasse]], which was the tallest inhabited building until the Tour First was renovated between 2007 and 2011, bringing it to its current height from a previous {{convert|159|m|ft}}; the tallest structure in Paris is the [[Eiffel Tower]].

On 9 September 2008, La Défense celebrated its 50th anniversary with a huge [[fireworks]] display.<ref>[http://www.rfi.fr/francefr/articles/105/article_72229.asp "La Défense : 50 ans d'histoire"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119074805/http://www.rfi.fr/francefr/articles/105/article_72229.asp |date=19 January 2017 }} 9 November 2008, Danielle Birck {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In December 2005, {{ill|Bernard Bled|fr|Bernard Bled}}, CEO and chairman of EPAD (La Defense Management and Development Office) announced an ambitious nine-year development plan called {{ill|La Defense 2006–2015|fr|Projet La Défense 2015|lt="La Defense 2006–2015"}}. This important modernisation plan has to give a new dimension to the district and focuses on four main axes: regenerate outdated skyscrapers, allow new buildings, improve the balance between offices and residential housing, and make the transport of local employees from their homes to La Défense easier. There are three aims: building {{convert|150000|m2|ft2}} of offices within demolition/rebuilding projects, building {{convert|300000|m2|ft2}} of offices within new projects, and building {{convert|100000|m2|ft2}} of housing.

In July 2006, the government confirmed this plan, which has to be carried out around 2015. It is justified by the strong estate pressure, which plays in favour of building new skyscrapers near Paris. Those constructions have the advantage of being more economical than small buildings. But it will have to overcome some difficulties: the French economy faced a short-term slowdown;{{when|date=July 2024}} the government is trying to balance tertiary sector employment in the whole region again, because today La Défense concentrates a major part of those jobs; and traffic is already saturated in the district, while it would need huge investments to extend transport infrastructures.

It launched high-profile international competitions and/or construction approval of several key {{convert|300|to|320|m|ft|adj=on}} tall sustainable development-style skyscrapers such as [[Tour Signal]], [[Phare (skyscraper)|Tour Phare]], [[Hermitage Plaza]], and [[Tour Generali]]. During said December 2005 Press Conference, EPAD released to the public an elaborate 3D animation film titled ''La Défense 2016''.

[[File:Panorama La Défense.jpg|thumb|center|1000px|{{center|The district at night}}]]