The Grand Palais: A Thousand an One Lives

For over a hundred years the Grand Palais has occupied the centre of Paris as the showcase for every artistic and technological innovation. In wartime it housed a military hospital and training camp, before going on to host some of the capital's most prestigious events.

This film shows how all manner of inventors, be they of images, objects, machines or lavish spectacles, have taken possession of the astonishing volumes of thiscomplex building. A rich selection of archive material gives us a ringside seat to the evolution of modern Frenchsociety itself.

We see horse-jumping, art salons and motor shows come alive, along with fashion parades, funfairs and ice rinks, as ambitious architectural projects foretold a radiant future.

The Grand Palais has always been the beating heart of modern life. And its future looks set to be even more amazing.