Third Republic, 1870 - 1914

We can say that the pre-1914 
world, which put much emphasis on 
elegance and leisure, was an 
international world. Exchanges of 
ideas and goods become more and 
more frequent among countries. One 
would think that the 
internationalism would somehow 
affect the design element of 
French architecture, especially 
since it hosted several 
international exhibitions between 
1867 and 1914. However, the world 
outside of Paris didnât bring many 
changes and had only short-term, 
superficial impact.

During this period, there were 
indeed exhibition halls of exotic 
styles erected in the city of 
Paris built by foreign architects, 
but this didnât bring much of a 
change to the face of the city. 
Still, people wouldnât see an 
apartment block with an arabesque 
look. Parisians didnât see the 
exhibitions as the world coming to 
Paris, rather than as a chance to 
stand on the center of the world 
stage. The character of Paris 
wouldnât change even it is one of 
the worldâs most important 
international centers because 
Parisians believed that the cityâs 
unique style is what gains the 
respect from the foreigners.

Although the exhibitions brought 
lots of different design styles 
and ideas in front of the eyes of 
Parisians, they only influenced 
decoration arts. The forms of 
French architecture still remain 
similar to that from the Second 
Empire.