Under the latter king, Paris increased still further in size. Straight streets were laid out towards the edge of the town. Two uninhabited islands in the river were built over and became the Ile Saint-Louis. It was connected with the two banks of the Seine by the Pont de la Tournelle and the Pont-Marie. The Pont au-Double was built in 1634 between Notre-Dame and the left bank. In 1632 a wooden bridge was erected opposite the rue de Beaune to carry the traffic of the growing Faubourg Saint-Ger main. The rue Neuve-Saint-Louis was built out over the river along the southern side of the Palace in 1622, and the rue and quai de Gesvres in 1642. In 1631 the western suburbs on the right bank were attached to the town, and a new line of fortifications with bastions was constructed. It followed the line of the old rampart until the Porte Saint-Denis; thence it was carried westward to what is now the corner of the rue Royale and the rue Saint-Honore, and then ran along the western side of the Tuileries garden. To the west of the Tuileries garden the regent, Marie de Medicis, laid out the Cours-la-Reine, where the car riages of the fashionable world used to drive. The same queen built the Luxembourg palace (1615), and Cardinal Richelieu the Palais-Royal (1636) ; both of these palaces had gardens which were frequented by fashionable society. The Jardin des Plantes also dates from the reign of Louis XIII. During his reign a num ber of monasteries and convents were also established at Paris. Of the religious institutions built at this time, there still remain les Carmes (1613), the Oratoire (1621-3o), Saint-Louis-des Jesuites (1627-41), la Visitation (1634), le Val-de-Grace (1645), Port-Royal (now the Maternite), Sainte-Elisabeth, les Petits Peres (Notre-Dame-des-Victoires), the Assomption, etc.
Louis XIV.—The Fronde was a leading event of the minority of Louis XIV. Paris was in such a disturbed state that the court was obliged to leave the town in Jan. 1649. The king returned in Oct. 1652. In the period following Mazarin's death in 166r, Paris became the triumphant capital of a victorious and all powerful monarch. The Louvre, work on which had been resumed in 1624, was completed by the magnificent colonnade (1667 74). The Tuileries palace was altered, completed and sumptu ously decorated; its gardens, transformed by Le Notre, were pro longed beyond the Paris boundaries by the tree-planted avenues of the Champs Elysees (1667). The line of fortifications, with its bastions, was replaced by a rampart along which were planted trees so as to form a walk; this was the origin of the Grands Boulevards (1670). The rampart was pierced by the Porte Saint Denis (1672) and the Porte Saint-Martin (1674) in the form of Roman triumphal arches. Both arches still exist. Other tri umphal monuments were the place des Victoires (1686) and the place de Vendome (1699), each containing a statue of Louis XIV. On the left bank, the College des Quatre-Nations (1662-74; the modern Institute), endowed by Mazarin's will, and open to young men from four recently conquered countries, and the Hotel des Invalides (1670) formed a counterpart to the Louvre and the Tuileries opposite and were yet another testimony to the glory of the king of France. The Faubourg Saint-Germain was adorned with a stately line of quais, and in 1685 the Pont-Royal was built to take the place of the wooden bridge opposite the rue de Beaune. On the left bank the Cours was laid out, corresponding to the line of the great boulevards on the other side ; thus the south part of Paris, which had remained within the limits of Philip Augustus' fortifications, was enlarged. The quai Peletier
was built along the Seine between the Pont Notre-Dame and the Greve (1673). Many of the streets were widened. The first barracks were constructed. The Observatory was built in 1667-72. In 1667 the Gobelins manufactory was organized. Various acad emies were added to the Academie Francaise owing to the in creasing centralization which was taking place round the mon archy. Everything tended to gravitate towards the Roi Soleil. The number of districts into which the town was divided was raised from 16 to 20 in 1702. But Louis XIV. transferred the seat of the monarchy to the palace which he built at Versailles.
The 18th Century.—In the nonage of Louis XV. the Tuileries, now the royal residence in Paris, was occupied for a few years. This encouraged urban development in the neighbourhood of the Tuileries. The Faubourg Saint-Honore increased in size during the 18th century, and became, like the Faubourg Saint Germain, an aristocratic quarter. The rue Royale was made in 1732, and the place Louis XV. was laid out around the statue of that king which was set up in 1763. This later became the place de la Concorde. The construction of the parish church of the Madeleine was begun in 1764 at the end of the rue Royale, and the Pont Louis XVI., now the Pont de la Concorde, was built in 1787. The great boulevards now began to be bordered with houses, including some fine mansions, and the eastern part of them became a fashionable promenade. Small theatres and cafés added to the animation of this part of the boulevards. Paris now spread even beyond this limit; the rues de Provence and d'Artois (or Laffitte) were laid out in 1770, the rue Taitbout in 1773, the rue Chauchat in 1779, the rue Richer in 1782 and the rue Le Peletier in 1786. Villas built by nobles and financiers were scattered about this outlying part of Paris. Elegance and easy enjoyment of life were the outstanding characteristics of the age.
About 178o the Comedie-Italienne was built on the site which had been occupied by the Hotel de Choiseul, where the Opera Comique now stands. New streets were constructed in its neighbourhood. On the former site of the Hotel de Conde, now occupied by the Odeon, was built the Theatre-Francais, which was opened in 1782. In front of it was a semicircular open space from which streets radiated. On the left bank the work of laying out the Cours and planting it with trees was continued, and houses were soon built along it. This was the beginning of the line of boulevards which was only completed under the Second Empire. The Ecole Militaire, with the Champ-de-Mars, dates from 1751. The Ecoles de Chirurgie (now the Ecole-de-Medecine) were built about this time, and also the Monnaie (1771) on the quai Conti and the Palais-Bourbon, now the Chambre des Deputes, on the quai d'Orsay. Soufflot built a new church (now the Pantheon) for the abbey of Sainte-Genevieve, and Saint-Sulpice, which had been begun about 1640, was completed. The Petit-Chatelet was demolished and replaced by a quay (1782) on the left bank; the Grand-Chatelet on the opposite bank did not disappear until early in the 19th century. The houses on the bridges were demolished in 1786-88: some however. remained until 1808. Water was supplied to both banks by the two fire pumps of the brothers Perier (1779 and 1787) which were the precursors of steam-driven machinery. The garden of the Palais-Royal, round which the duke of Orleans built arcades in the reign of Louis XVI., became a centre of Parisian life. The octroi wall of the fermiers generaux, built about the same time, bore witness to the growth of Paris.