Conseil d’Etat

The front part of Palais-Royal is the siege of the State Counsel, a government body created by Napoleon. Among its missions, this institution ensures all laws are constitutional.

Upon its creation, the Conseil d’Etat drafted a collection of bills. These laws were one of Napoleon’s greatest contributions to France: the Civil Code. Prior to that, France had a total of forty two different legal systems in use all over the country. At last, French citizens were given equality before the law.

While such government bodies are normally not accessible to the public, it is possible to visit some of them in September during the annual “Heritage Days” week-end, and it’s coming up this week-end! Highly recommended!