Ancien Ministère De La Marine Marchande

The former Ministry of the Merchant Marine occupies a corner hotel particulier on the Place de Fontenoy. Its facade is defined by a dense row of stone columns and an imposing entryway that projects a sense of bureaucratic weight. Built in the early twentieth century, the structure was commissioned to manage France's growing maritime trade and overseas transport needs. During the German occupation in the nineteen forties, the building housed the administrative offices of the Kriegsmarine, the Nazi German navy, while they controlled the French coast.