The first stone of the Grand Mosque of Paris was laid in 1922. Robert Fournez, Maurice Mantout and Charles Heubès completed it from plans by Maurice Tranchant de Lunel. It was inaugurated on July 16, 1926, with President Gaston Doumergue and Sultan Yusef of Morocco attending.
The article calls the style Moorish Revival. The courtyard, horseshoe arches and green-tiled roofs draw on the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, and the 108-foot (33 m) minaret draws on the Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis. Craftsmen from North Africa made the decorative program, including zellij tilework. The complex covers about 80,700 square feet (7,500 m²) and holds about 1,000 worshippers. It includes a madrasa, library, hammam and tea room.
During the occupation it reportedly sheltered Jewish refugees. Estimates of the number vary widely, and Yad Vashem honored its rector, Si Kaddour Benghabrit, for saving about 100 Jews. It is open to tourists daily except Fridays.
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