Institut de France
The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five académies, including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and châteaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which amounted to a total of over €27 million per year in 2017. Most of these prizes are awarded by the institute on the recommendation of the académies.
History
The building was originally constructed as the Collège des Quatre-Nations by Cardinal Mazarin, as a school for students from new provinces attached to France under Louis XIV. The inscription over the façade reads "JUL. MAZARIN S.R.E. CARD BASILICAM ET GYMNAS F.C.A M.D.C.LXI", attesting that Mazarin ordered its construction in 1661.The Institut de France was established on 25 October 1795, by the National Convention.
On 1 January 2018, Xavier Darcos took office as the Institut de France's chancellor. Elected in 2017 to succeed Gabriel de Broglie, he was reelected in 2020. The chancellor acts as the institute's secretary general, whilst the organisation itself is placed under the protection of the president of the republic.
Académies
- Académie Française – initiated in 1635, suppressed in 1793, and restored in 1803 as a division of the institute.
- Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres – initiated 1663.
- Académie des sciences – initiated 1666.
- Académie des Beaux-Arts – created 1816 as the merger of:
- * The Académie de peinture et de sculpture ;
- * The Académie de musique and;
- * The Académie d'architecture.
- Académie des sciences morales et politiques – initiated 1795, suppressed 1803, reestablished 1832.
Influence
The Lebanese Academy of Sciences, known officially by its French name "Académie des Sciences du Liban", is broadly fashioned after the French Academy of Sciences, with which it continues to develop joint programmes.