The Élysée Palace was built from 1718 to 1722 for Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Count of Évreux, and designed by his house architect, Armand-Claude Mollet. The count paid for it with the dowry of 2,000,000 livres from his 1707 marriage. It is a fine example of French neo-classical style.
Madame de Pompadour bought it on December 24, 1753, for 730,000 livres. In 1787 the Duchess of Bourbon bought it and named it the Élysée. Joachim Murat and his wife bought it in 1805, and it passed to Napoleon in 1808. In the Salon d'Argent, Napoleon signed his abdication on June 22, 1815. Napoleon III had Joseph-Eugène Lacroix renovate it from 1853 to 1867.
The French Parliament declared it the president's official residence on December 12, 1848. The Salle des Fêtes opened on May 10, 1889, and the Jardins d'Hiver, a greenhouse of 1883, now serves banquets. A French-style garden lies behind the palace, which is heavily guarded.
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