Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie

The building you are approaching, the Palais de la Porte Dorée, was constructed for the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition. It was designed as a permanent monument to the reach of the French empire, and its exterior features a massive stone bas-relief by Alfred Janniot that depicts the supposed resources and wealth of French territories in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. This structure served for decades as a showcase of colonial power before evolving into the National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania.