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Field guide · Paris, France

La Défense

Paris's purpose-built business district — bigger than the City by floor space.

La Défense, two stops west of the Arc de Triomphe on the RER A, is Europe's largest purpose-built business district by floor space. It hosts the headquarters of BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole CIB, Total Energies, and the European offices of many international banks. Like Canary Wharf, it is a planned cluster — not the historic centre — built up since the 1960s.

La Défense · Paris, France48.9°N 2.4°Eregional hub: London

Origin

Planned in 1958 by the EPAD agency. The Grande Arche opened in 1989 as the district's monumental centrepiece. Banks moved in steadily from the 1970s onwards.

Who works here

BNP Paribas (Coeur Défense)
Société Générale (Tours SG)
Crédit Agricole CIB (Évolutif tower)
TotalEnergies, Engie, AXA
International banks' Paris offices, expanded post-Brexit

Landmarks

Grande Arche de la Défense
Tours Société Générale
Coeur Défense
Tour First (Paris's tallest)

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