“Montparnasse Tower, French Style Skyscraper”, on France 3, a monument as hated as it is admired

France 3 ILE-DE-FRANCE – Thursday 1^RE June 23:00 – Documentary

“There are two towers in Paris: the Eiffel Tower and the Montparnasse Tower. » The actual report is by Emmanuel Grégoire, the current first deputy in charge of urban planning for the city of Paris. But if the time of criticism for the former is over, the latter has yet to reach a solid age of consensus, according to the very successful film – but very short, really – released on its 50th anniversary. if…

The Montparnasse Tower has been radiating passions long before its inauguration on June 18, 1973—a date chosen for its Gaullist resonance. The documentary goes back to 1945 to trace the controversial history of the building, which was sought by André Malraux, Minister of Culture from 1959 to 1969, as a symbol of modernity and revival.

Even today, we find the same polemical climate among the speakers. Among its defenders are Virginie Picon-Lefebvre, architect and researcher, and Fati Daoud-Almadovar, head hostess of the tower from 1973 to 2017; At the head of his opponents, the current mayor of 15^e District Philippe Gujon, who for some time even demanded its demolition.

old and dirty

The “Maine-Montparnasse project” still responds to a triple expectation: the lack of housing, the modernization of the station for vacationers and – less often – the development of the third sector, which requires the massive construction of offices.

Documents, plans, models, archives restore these issues. We discover, among other things, Montparnasse station “before”, old-fashioned and dirty, then a huge construction site, advanced technologies introduced, workers, between earth and sky… and views of Paris in different periods. , great.

Among the excerpts from the program, one shows Jean-Claude Aaron, the promoter who died on December 7, 2006, in charge of the work. They take the case to him on the micro-sidewalk. To a woman who calls him a thief, he replies: “I’m glad ma’am”… which reminds us of Jacques Chirac, mayor of Paris in 1977.

Politicians have a special link to the tower. In 1974, it housed the headquarters of Francois Mitterrand’s presidential campaign. Its winner, President-elect Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, will put the brakes on the big Parisian projects. Among the keynote speakers, Jacques Toubon, former minister and former human rights defender, recalls the creation of the RPR on December 5, 1976. “The next day we moved to the tower. Every night we watched the sunset over the Eiffel Tower, we were in heaven! »

Since then, the skyscraper has never stopped adapting: to the oil shock, the asbestos ban, and soon the climate challenge. A chance to use: If the project is successful, the Montparnasse Tower will be in the hearts of Parisians.Emanuel Gregoire claims.