Luxembourg Palace

Nestled within its namesake garden, the Luxembourg Palace has been the seat of the French Senate since 1799. During the French Revolution, the palace became national property and was transformed into a prison, where almost 800 people were incarcerated, a third of whom were guillotined. Under Napoleon's rule, the palace housed the Conservative Senate, a body established to uphold the Constitution – a key element of his new regime. Throughout the centuries and as the Republic evolved, the Luxembourg Palace has continually served as the seat of the French Senate. The building stands as a true symbol of institutional life in France. Now, let's go back in time to trace the origins of the palace. It started out as the private residence of the Duke of Luxembourg, hence its current name. Marie de Médicis, queen mother of Louis XIII, bought the mansion in 1612. She was living in the Louvre at the time, and wanted to build a palace that reminded her of her homeland, Italy. Architect Salomon de Brosse came up with a design inspired by the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and Marie herself laid the foundation stone a few years later. The result stands before you today, a beautiful synthesis of classical and Renaissance styles. This was a difficult time for Marie de Médicis. Her husband Henry IV had just been murdered by Ravaillac, and she found herself regent of the kingdom of France for her son Louis XIII, who was just 8 years old at the time. As queen mother, she governed the kingdom until her son reached the age of 14, at which point a king was considered old enough to reign and carry out his political and military duties. But in 1630, Marie's life took a turn for the worse. Enter the Day of the Dupes, a political crisis that pitted her against her son and his senior minister, Cardinal de Richelieu. The queen felt that Richelieu was too influential and did not trust him, and so she advised Louis XIII to dismiss him. The king, who seemed to be on his mother's side at first, changed his mind and turned against her, reiterating his confidence in Richelieu. Marie was seen as a threat and was forced to leave the Luxembourg Palace. Furious and humiliated, she lost all political influence and never returned to the palace she had built for herself. She was exiled to Compiègne and stripped of her power. She finally decided to flee France, taking refuge in Flanders and then Brussels. Cast out from the world of politics and the opulent life she once knew, she traveled Europe with her children and died in poverty in 1642. She never saw the beautiful Luxembourg Palace again.