Ecole Militaire at night

The École Militaire (French pronunciation: [ekɔl militɛʁ], Military School) is a vast complex of buildings housing various military training facilities located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, southeast of the Champ de Mars.

It was founded by Louis XV in 1750 on the basis of a proposal of the financier Joseph Pâris (known as Duverney) with the support of Madame de Pompadour, with the aim of creating an academic college for cadet officers from poor families. It was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, and construction began in 1752 on the grounds of the farm of Grenelle, but the school did not open until 1760. The Comte de Saint-Germain reorganised it in 1777 under the name of the École des Cadets-gentilshommes (School of Young Gentlemen), which accepted the young Napoleon Bonaparte in 1784. He graduated from this school in only one year instead of two.

It now hosts:

The Collège interarmées de défense (fr: Joint defence college) is a French institution for military higher education. It succeeds the former four Écoles supérieures de guerre of the French Army, French Navy, French Air Force and National Gendarmerie, and the Cours supérieur interarmées since 1 September 1993. It is located in the École Militaire, and is subordinated to the Chief of the Defence Staff (France). Teaching is selective, diversified, and focused on joint warfare, international relations, and planning.

The 7th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements (administrative districts) of the capital city of France. It includes some of Paris's major tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Hôtel des Invalides (Napoléon's resting place), and a concentration of such world famous museums as the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée du quai Branly.

Situated on the Rive Gauche — the "Left," or Southern, bank of the River Seine — this central arrrondissement, which includes the historical aristocratic neighbor of Faubourg Saint-Germain, contains a number of French national institutions, among them the French National Assembly and numerous government ministries. It is also home to many foreign diplomatic embassies, some of them occupying outstanding Hôtels particuliers.

The arrondissement is home to French upper class since the 17th century, when it became the new residence of French highest nobility. The district has been so fashionable within the French aristocracy that the phrase le Faubourg — referring to the ancient name of the current 7th arrondissement — has been used to describe French nobility ever since. France's 2nd richest district in average income, this arrondissement is part of Paris Ouest, alongside the 6th, 8th, 16th arrondissements and Neuilly, and is usually considered the most aristocratic district of the area.

La Rive Gauche (French pronunciation: [la ʁiv ɡoʃ], The Left Bank) is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two: looking downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank (or Rive Droite) is to the right.

"Rive Gauche" or "Left Bank" generally refers to the Paris of an earlier era; the Paris of artists, writers and philosophers, including Pablo Picasso, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Henri Matisse, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and dozens of other members of the great artistic community at Montparnasse. The phrase implies a sense of bohemianism and creativity. Some of its famous streets are the Boulevard Saint-Germain, the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Rue de Rennes.

The Latin Quarter is a Left Bank area in the 5th arrondissement, so named because originally Latin was widely spoken by students in the vicinity of the University of Paris.