|
Contemporary Paris
Paris was the headquarters of NATO from 1950 to 1967; it is the headquarters of UNESCO. A program of cleaning the city's major buildings and monuments was completed in the 1960s. The city was the scene in May, 1968, of serious disorders, beginning with a student strike, that nearly toppled the Fifth Republic. In 1971, Les Halles, Paris's famous central market, called by Zola the "belly" of Paris, was dismantled. Construction began immediately on Chatelet Les-Halles, Paris's new metro hub, which was completed in 1977. The Forum des Halles, a partially underground, multistory commercial and shopping center, opened in 1979. Other developments include the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture, built in 1977, which includes the National Museum of Modern Art. The Louvre underwent extensive renovation, and EuroDisney, a multibillion dollar theme and amusement park, opened in the Parisian suburbs in 1992. A number of major projects in the city were initiated by President FranCois Mitterrand (1981–95); they include the new BibliothEque Nationale, the glass pyramid at the Louvre, Grande Arche de la DEfense, Arab Institute, Bastille Opera, and CitE de la Musique.
|
