Together, let’s share the keys to understanding the economy!

Citéco is an association that offers a new type of cultural site
At the heart of Plaine Monceau, in a fully restored Renaissance Revival historical monument, Citéco is the first European Museum focused on economy. It takes visitors on a discovery of economic terms and issues in an interactive and fun way, through a permanent exhibition spread across 2400m2 and divided into six sequences: Exchanges, Players, Markets, Crises, Regulations, Treasures. 

 Designed in the image of an actual “city”, this living space also offers encounters, debates, entertainment and cultural activities all year round.

Do you represent a company ?		Are you an association, school or public body
that wants to support the Cité de l’Économie?		that wants to help the Cité de l’Économie?
Get in touch  Nicolas Vinci, head of audience development: nicolas.vinci@citeco.fr Julie Baron Benacquista, in charge of patronages, partnerships and business clients: julie.baron@citeco.fr We’d love to work together

The home of Émile Gaillard, a “magical” building

Hôtel Gaillard’s façade reigns over place du Général-Catroux and, in Paris’ 17th arrondissement where cut stone dominates the landscape, it sets itself apart with its brick walls topped with sleek roofs and thin turrets. Designed at the end of the 19th century, the building’s radical architecture is still startling. It surprised and enchanted its contemporaries who called it “marvellous”, “magnificent”, “surprising” and “magical”. It’s true that its original architecture was a surprise. However, it was no accident and was exactly how its sponsor, Émile Gaillard, has envisioned it.

A tailor-made neighbourhood

In 1878, Émile Gaillard purchased two adjacent plots of land on Plaine Monceau. Formerly an area used for pasture and vegetable crops, the Plaine was urbanised at the end of the 19th century, with shrewd businessmen investing in and purchasing plots to sell them off. The neighbourhood has strong assets: it is well served by boulevard Malesherbes and avenue de Villiers, there’s plenty of room, it’s chic, bourgeois and busy, being especially visited by artists. Claude Debussy and Sarah Bernhardt lived here. This setting also pleased Émile Gaillard who, despite being a banker, was also passionate about art. His residence rue Daru became too cramped for his sizeable Middle Age and Renaissance art collection, and he tasked architect Jules Février with the construction of a town mansion.

On the plot he purchased, Émile Gaillard had his home built along with two adjacent town mansions to make his property investment more profitable: one overlooking rue Berger and the other on rue de Thann. With Hôtel Gaillard, these form a U shape surrounding a courtyard for the crews. These beautiful properties are unlike “Châteaux” due to their architecture which is typical of the late 19th century. Today, all three have been reunited and are inter-communicating. Unlike traditional town mansions, this building is not hidden behind a large porch. The entrance opens onto the road and not onto a courtyard. Hotel Gaillard flaunts its magnificence.

A large bourgeois residence

The building is a testament to its owner’s social standing and artistic taste. It meets three requirements: to house a family, to receive guests with style and to showcase an exceptional collection in an appropriate environment. Utility rooms are on the ground floor. Private apartments are on the mezzanine floor, accessed via a grand staircase, and include: a dining room, four bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms. The richly decorated reception rooms are on the first floor: the small lounge, the great lounge and the art gallery. This is where Émile Gaillard displayed his most beautiful pieces: pottery by Bernard Palissy, Flemish tapestries, Renaissance statues and chests. The second floor is reserved for his oldest son, Eugène. 

An original legacy, a piece of work by architect Jules Février

An original legacy, built between 1878 and 1884

Anyone can see this Renaissance Revival masterpiece’s resemblance with the châteaux of the Loire valley. The press at the time hesitated on the term that should be used to refer to it: “Should town mansion, château or palace be used to refer to the splendid construction that [...] Mr. J. Février has just built for Mr. Gaillard, a banker in Grenoble?”(1) queries Cl. Périer in the pages of La Semaine des Constructeurs. To be more precise, Hôtel Gaillard drew inspiration from the Blois and Gien châteaux, built during the 15th and 16th centuries respectively, and more specifically from the architecture of château de Blois’ Louis XII wing.

The château de Blois, the point of reference  

Several factors contributed towards Blois becoming an architectural reference in the 19th century. It is one of the most beautiful royal residences. Louis XII transformed this fortress castle into a palace and built a wing characteristic of the “French Renaissance” between 1498 and 1503. This style includes gothic elements from the late 15th century and Renaissance innovations from Italy and Northern Europe. During the mid-19th century, this legacy was officially recognized. In 1840, at Prosper Mérimée’s initiative (then general inspector of Historic Monuments, a brand-new authority created in 1837), the château de Blois was registered on the list of historical monuments and restored by architect Félix Duban using State funds. After long restoration works, it was the subject of a highly documented publication (2) which Jules Février - Émile Gaillard’s architect - would later use. The latter was also in contact with Jules Édouard Potier de La Morandière, the inspecting architect for the Blois restoration works and was no doubt advised by him. Thus, the Hôtel Gaillard’s aesthetics were carefully planned and designed to be reminiscent of a style and period.  

A fashionable style

Émile Gaillard’s artistic choices were in line with the confirmed trend of the 19th century. The architecture of the past won over entrepreneurs and businessmen alike. Romanticism awoke a taste for Middle Age art (in 1830, Victor Hugo published The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), the Gothic Revival style - a testament to the audacity of cathedral builders - was brought to civil architecture in France as well as in England and Germany.

The “Château” style did not stay in Plaine Monceau, it was fashionable in France as well as across the Atlantic, and as many residences inspired by this model can be found in Europe and in the USA.

Thus, the architect Robert Morris Hunt who studied at the École des Beaux arts de Paris created one of the most impressive Renaissance Revival pastiches inspired by the Château de Blois for George Washington Vanderbilt at the end of the 19th century: the Biltmore estate near Asheville in North Carolina. This large private estate is now a museum.

The use of exceptional know-how

The restoration of the château de Blois and Renaissance Revival constructions such as Hôtel Gaillard have contributed towards bringing back specific art techniques among which painted enamel, wood sculptures, polychromatic glass and woodwork. Émile Gaillard and Jules Février worked with renowned artists for the internal decor - Mr. Jean, a sculptor from Rouan, and Mr. Andrieu for woodwork -, and sought out exceptional know-how, including artisans in charge of restoring château de Blois, such as the Loebnitz faience factory to decorate the grand staircase landings. 

A Banque de France branch from 1923-2006

From the 1920s, after its transformation into a Banque de France branch, the Hôtel Gaillard took on a new life, the remnants of which can still be seen inside and are part of the visit.

1923, Hôtel Gaillard becomes a bank, a smooth transformation

Malesherbes: the ideal location for a bank branch. In the wake of the First World War, the Banque de France continues its expansion strategy by opening branches. In 1920, it decides to create three local offices in Paris: place de la Bastille, boulevard Raspail and place Malesherbes. The plaine Monceau neighbourhood has changed since the end of the 19th century: great industrial families have replaced the artists which had made it famous during Émile Gaillard’s lifetime. As a result, the Peugeot, Breuget, Guerlain, Michelin and Haviland families now live in this bourgeois arrondissement. Consequently, the Malesherbes branch had the largest portfolio of securities.

In 1919, the Banque de France acquired Hôtel Gaillard

Up for sale since 1904, with no buyer in sight, Hôtel Gaillard is sold cheap, with the Bank buying it for 2 million francs. A bargain given that the cost of its construction was estimated at 11 million francs. The Banque de France is not satisfied with the “château” part alone, and also buys the town mansion located rue Berger (where the branch director would later live). Meanwhile, the town mansion located rue de Thann - which had been sold to the Union des Femmes de France - was exchanged against another neighbourhood building. Thus, the entire Gaillard plot, along with its three buildings, became the property of the Banque de France.

Necessary developments

Transforming this “Renaissance Château” into a bank branch required significant works which lasted for 4 years between 1919 and 1923. The works are entrusted to the architect Alphonse Defrasse and to the decorator Jean-Henri Jansen. The bank had no intention of losing the place’s originality and style, which would attract clients. However, its purpose was no longer to house a family and a collection, but to accommodate the public staff and vaults. The building needed to be functional and inspire trust.  Alphonse Defrasse made the necessary restructurations creating a public hall (named the Defrasse hall), a vault room and administrative offices. The town mansion located rue de Thann was merged with Hôtel Gaillard in order to create new functional rooms.

Historic pieces of remarkable decor were kept, save for the art gallery that looked over rue de Thann. The monumental grand staircase would henceforth lead to the different departments set up in the former apartments and reception rooms. Clients would climb them to reach the information desk (once the small lounge) before heading towards the securities gallery for stock exchange transactions or to the public hall where small stalls enabled them to meet with the employees at the different booths.

Defrasse hall and the vault room: a monumental ensemble

A major asset in the inner courtyard

To build what is to be the beating heart of this new branch, Alphone Defrasse found the space required in the Hôtel Gaillard’s inner courtyard. He dug down to create an underground vault room and elevated the public hall above it using a vast reinforced concrete structure topped with a wooden and glass vaulted ceiling. The result is monumental, spectacular. Enough to seduce and reassure clients, to drain their savings and spark their imagination.

The vault room: maximum protection

Defrasse is the Banque de France’s lead architect and knows exactly what a bank branch needs. The vault room is built over two levels with a mezzanine passageway, imposing pillars, 112 vaults containing 3874 safes of varying sizes and booths to hide clients from view.

It boasts an unprecedented security system: protected by a heavy armoured door built-in and surrounded by a water-filled moat, it is accessed by a type of draw bridge, a sliding floor operated by an electrical system. Once again, Hôtel Gaillard surprises, notably the Petit Parisien journalist who describes these developments as “walls calculated to play with iron, fire and powder: Cyclops locks with Lilluputian keys... In this grave, the eye of conscience could not follow Cain”.

Respecting the spirit of the place

The Art Deco style dominated the 1920s, its geometry and the monumentality of its shapes contrasting with the “Renaissance” sophistication of Hôtel Gaillard.

When Alphonse Dufrasse started on the site, the building had not yet been classed a historical monument, he had full freedom to change the original structure, yet he work to respect the spirit of the place, reclaiming its decorative register. A decision that gained the recognition of the architect Victor-Jules Février: “Not only did you not denature my work, but you completed it.”

In the vault room, the monumental framework shaped like an inverted hull, is reminiscent of the well staircase. The pattern on the mezzanine railing matches that on the grand staircase and the loggia. On the upper parts of the pillars - which are Art Deco by their very size -, Defrasse added Renaissance Revival decorations.

The devil is in the details

For its new branch, the bank did not skimp on the quality of materials and used renowned artisans. The famous Maison Jansen provided the wooden counters and booths, adding the gothic “linenfold” patterns found on the panelling in the dining room.

Renaissance Revival furniture was tailor made to furnish the offices for the branch’s executives. Lighting, including the ironwork chandeliers in the public hall, was entrusted to the Saunier-Duval company, specialising in gas lighting, and in charge of Parisian streetlights. After being remodelled on several occasions - in the 1950s and again 20 years later - to account for the drop in staff and the change in banking transactions, the branch definitively closed its doors on 1 July 2006.

(1) Excerpt from Le néo-Renaoissance en France et la Haute Banque by Antonio Brucceleri, 2016.

(2) Architecture de la Renaissance : le Château de Blois (extérieur et intérieur) by Ernest Le Nail, published in 1875.

A magical universe, combining history and modernity

Is your company looking to organise a memorable event? The Cité de l’Économie is full of gems and areas capable of hosting prestigious events

The Cité de l’Économie is housed by a jewel of Renaissance Revival architecture built in 1882, Hôtel Gaillard in Paris’ 17th arrondissement. This exceptional setting, which is classed a Historical Monument, is the product of a remarkable history marked by three main periods: from a town mansion belonging to banker Émile Gaillard, it was transformed into one of the Banque de France’s most beautiful bank branches before being entirely rehabilitated and turned into the first European museum dedicated to understanding main economic mechanisms.

Take a dizzying journey through the most beautiful periods and artistic styles! 

Contact us at location@citeco.fr

Topics

Comics art

Largo Winch’s universe & adventures

Economy & contemporary history

Availability

Starting from 2022.

Introduction

With an exceptional original collection of more than 60 original artworks, manuscripts, artefacts, reproductions, videos and sets, the exhibition is designed to give visitors of all ages a chance to venture into the art of comics and the makings of a bestseller, exploring the creativity of the saga artists.

A curated journey through the 22 albums enables to (re)discover the fascinating realm and quests of the hero who, at just 26 years of age, inherits a vast industrial and financial empire. Transported into a world of comics, visitors meet with the hero, his team, his friends and his enemies, and discover the extraordinary cityscapes that populate the series landscapes along the hero’s adventures, from Istanbul to Chicago, London to Hong Kong, Amsterdam to Venice.

Created by Citéco, Europe’s first ever museum devoted to economics, the exhibition also provides a highly original insight into the mysterious workings of contemporary economy, telling a story of 30 years of economy practices, major changes and challenges that have taken place since the first album of the series was published back in 1990. Visitors can grasp the basics of economics and delve into significant global economy concepts and events, from stock market crashes and subprime crisis to large-scale corruption, through the humanist billionaire’s adventures and the discovery of a very unique artistic creation.

A word from the curator

Didier Pasamonik, a renowned comic book specialist, journalist, bookseller, writer, and publisher who has more than forty years of experience in the comic book industry tells us a bit more about the exhibition.

The exhibition in the press

“The exhibition structured around this iconic comics character […] is certainly worth the trip. Thanks to its richness […], the educational aspects of the different themes addressed, but above all thanks to the elegance of its scenography.” Le Figaro

  “We get into economy without committing a crime.” Télérama

“The meeting of Largo Winch […] and Citéco gives rise to an explosive cocktail in this original exhibition.” Art in the City

Contact Us

For more information on this touring exhibition, please leave us a message at export@citeco.fr or give us a call on the following number: +33 (0)6 13 42 87 35.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Buy a ticket

The Largo Winch exhibition will reopen on Saturday 29 May and last until 31 December 2021!

Dive into the universe of finance with the famous comic strip hero: Largo Winch, the billionaire playboy. Take this opportunity to decipher the inner workings of capitalism, financial markets and stock exchanges during an unmissable best-seller exhibition!

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm, open until 7 pm on Saturday.

This ticket does not include access to the permanent exhibition. If you wish to continue your Citéco visit, please book by adding another ticket to your basket!

EXHIBITION LAYOUT

The quality of the Largo Winch series stems first and foremost from its fast-paced, straightforward plots with punchy dialogue that enables us to easily grasp the basics of economics, as well as a touch of humour, thanks to finely honed, perfectly captured characters who evolve in stories shot through with a hint of social satire. Largo Winch above all reveals that managing an empire like the W Group is a thrilling and rewarding adventure with twists galore, as well as a whole host of opportunities for sharing one’s values and enthusiasm.

In the first room, visitors will find out more about the authors behind this enthralling saga; the second introduces us to Largo Winch and the people around him – friends and enemies alike; the third unveils the main cities his adventures bring him to and, last but not least, the fourth delves into how, in the thirty years since the first album was released, economics has been impacted by the myriad social and technological changes and upheavals, and how this is conveyed in the 22 albums relating the humanist billionaire’s adventures.

VIRTUAL VISIT

Virtually (re)discover our temporary exhibition on Largo Winch! In three videos, Éric Giacometti, Largo Winch scriptwriter, Didier Pasamonik, the exhibition’s curator, and Olivier Bossard, economy professor at HEC give you a behind-the-scenes peek at the comic strip and “Largo Winch: Economic Pathfinder”.

The origin of the work, the structure of the exhibition... Didier Pasamonik, the curator of “Largo Winch: Economic Pathfinder”, sheds some light on the series and gives you the inside story on the Citéco exhibition. 

There is not one Largo Winch adventure that doesn’t address the issues of our contemporary economy! Olivier Bossard, economy professor at HEC, helps you to decipher the economic terms used throughout the series.

Why is Largo Winch so popular? Éric Giacometti, the series’ script writer since the 21st volume, looks back on the uniqueness of the legendary hero’s adventures in the third and last part of our virtual visit.

THE WINCH GROUP

The Winch group is a tentacular conglomerate. With a presence in 129 countries, it is comprised of a thousand of independent companies operating in eleven sectors from oil to banking, including aeronautics, mass distribution, the media or the hotel business.

In thirty years, with its acquisitions and investments, its workforce has increased from 400,000 to over 600,000 and its turnover has risen from 43 billion dollars to over 260 billion dollars. Furthermore, with total assets of over 740 billion dollars, it is now one of the 10 largest global groups, surpassing companies such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Total or Toyota due to the size of its assets.

Yet, despite the Winch Group’s impressive growth, its profitability is not as extraordinary, particularly because most of its companies operate in traditional sectors or on mature markets with a high level of competitiveness. In addition, as the humanist billionaire that Largo is, maximum profit is not a priority. He prefers an ethical, societal and responsible approach to capitalism.

Source Forbes

Real Group Winch figures (Olivier Bossard and Pascal Quiry, professors of finance at HEC Paris):

THE ECONOMIC FACTSHEETS (download)

The Largo Winch series examines the modern-day economy from a human perspective, through a character who is a bit of an idealistic "boy scout", with this paradox: when you inherit an industrial and financial fortune, what perception can you truly have of social reality? How do you view fairness? Justice?

How can you change events and, crucially, to what end?

What hopes and goals can an ultra-high-net-worth individual have apart from living off their private income?

And last but not least, does a rich man deserve to be happy? Is a company manager with a host of responsibilities allowed to have a taste for adventure?

The exhibition sets out to answer these questions in chronological order.

Download our factsheets which unpack the ins and outs of economics in Largo’s world.

THE AUTHORS

PHILIPPE FRANCQ

In just a few albums, Philippe Francq carved a reputation out for himself as one of the greatest realistic illustrators of his generation. He studied at Brussels’ Institut Saint-Luc in the graphic design section before joining the comic book studio run by Claude Renard, François Schuiten and Philippe Berthet. He then honed his skills at the Hergé studio with Bob de Moor. Heeding the advice of the best Belgian realistic illustrator of his time, Hermann, with Bob de Groot writing the script he published two albums for the series Des Villes et des Femmes (1987) followed by another two for the Léo Tomasini series (1988) with Francis Delvaux. A meeting with Jean Van Hamme in 1989 saw the latter ask him to illustrate Largo Winch.

His draughtsmanship is in the tradition of the Belgian school and that of Hergé: precise, perfectly executed in the attitudes of the characters, fabric folds and drapery, architecture, cars, boats, aircraft... And jet-set scenes. It is very carefully documented, each album being subject to location research, often shored up by a reporting assignment at the site where the adventure is taking place, where Philippe Francq takes thousands of photos. At times, Jean Van Hamme has given him pictures that he had personally taken during his travels When it’s time to put pencil to paper, the first stage involves sketching the scene, laying out what it will look like, as clearly and fluidly as possible; then comes the inking stage which, since the 15th album, has been done on a graphics tablet, which sets the drawing in stone as it were. The final stage involves adding colour, “when light fills the picture”.

Over 30 years, just like Hergé’s Tintin back in the day, he has described the era (computers, mobile phones, architecture, etc.). “Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail…" In Largo Winch’s adventures, Philippe Francq has truly made this aphorism of Leonardo da Vinci his own, with each scene retaining its truth and emotion thanks to a drawing that is a masterpiece of perfection. The exhibition displays more than 40 outstanding original illustrations.

ÉRIC GIACOMETTI

Éric Giacometti was an investigative journalist before becoming deputy editor of the "society” then “economics/finance” sections in the leading national daily newspaper Le Parisien / Aujourd’hui en France. In 2005, he teamed up with his friend Jacques Ravenne to create the successful thriller about the freemason cop Antoine Marcas (published by Jean-Claude Lattès), a series that has been translated in 18 countries and has sold nearly three million copies. He produced a graphic novel version of it with illustrations by Gabriele Parma and then by Éric Albert (published by Delcourt).

In 2016, his longtime friend Philippe Francq asked if he wanted to take over the writing for Largo Winch after Jean Van Hamme decided to stop. What a challenge! But thanks to his experience as a novelist, he was able to analyse the Largo albums “with a professional eye”. The series was initially set against the economic backdrop coming out of World War II. He therefore set himself the task of ushering it into a new era. For him, Largo Winch, the recalcitrant billionaire, is Spartacus who becomes Caesar.

On 6 May 2010, while still a journalist for the economics section of Le Parisien, Éric personally witnessed the flash crash of the New York stock exchange, caused by high-frequency trading, and he drew inspiration from this for l’Étoile du matin.

Buy a ticket

Purchasing power is the amount of goods and services that can be bought with our income.

Increasing incomes therefore makes it possible to increase purchasing power. But beware that this is not necessarily enough, as changes in the general price levels must also be taken into account…

Let’s have a look, for example, at the growth in purchasing power between 1973 and 2008, when three periods unfolded in succession: a period of high inflation until 1984, followed by a period of disinflation until 1996 and finally a period of low inflation until 2008.

Which period coincided with a higher increase in purchasing power for French citizens? Let’s check with our "Price stability and purchasing power” challenge!

View the challenge!

Duration: 2’

Languages: French, English, Spanish

Who can play: everyone

Design: Banque de France / Cité de l’Économie

Production: Opixido

In France, pensions operate according to a so-called "pay-as-you-go" system, which means that the contributions paid by employers and employees go towards the financing of retired people’s pensions.

But in this kind of system, when the average age of the population rises (as has been the case in France for a number of years now), the number of pensioners rises faster than the number of contributors. This leads to a problem in terms of the financial stability of the pension system, which can be adjusted by changing its three key parameters: the State pension (i.e. retirement) age, the contribution rates and the pension levels.

Let’s fast-forward to the year 2070, and imagine that the system is stable: let’s see what would happen to the pension level if we were to change the State pension age and contribution rate. The decisions are in your hands!

Play!

Duration: 7’

Languages: French, English, Spanish

Who can play: everyone

Design: Banque de France / Cité de l’Économie

Production: Opixido

Honorary General Inspector of Finances, Emmanuel Constans was until 2016 the Ombudsman of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance.

He chaired the Comité consultatif du secteur financier (CCSF) from 2004 to 2017.

He is a member of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) which oversees the activities of banks and insurance companies.

He chairs the mediation committee and the monitoring and proposals committee of the AERAS agreement (s’Assurer et Emprunter avec un Risque Aggravé de Santé).

Philippe Gineste, a trained historian, has an experience of over 20 years in the management of cultural institutions. He was the Director of the Parc aux étoiles in the Yvelines from 2003 to 2011 and Director of the Vaisseau in Strasbourg from 2011 to 2017. Thanks to these experiences, he has acquired a strong expertise in the management of interactive, educational and cultural institutions. He emphasises the role of games as a driving force for learning, with the public at the heart of the educational approach.

With the arrival of Philippe Gineste, the opening of Citéco is coming into focus. It is expected to welcome its first testing visitors at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019.

Question to Philippe Gineste: why did you choose Citéco?

"It’s the story of an encounter. An encounter between a remarkable project in a building of great architectural quality, and my career path which is marked by my commitment to scientific culture and the transmission of knowledge. With Citéco, we have the opportunity of setting up an institution that puts the economy, even more so than today, within the cultural and educational realm of the public. As a place for encounters, discoveries, games and exchanges, which also showcases splendid collections, this interactive museum aims to offer a unique visitor experience. It’s a wonderful challenge that I could only accept."

Photo credit : © Jonathan Sorago