The Lycée Charlemagne (French pronunciation: [lise ʃaʁləmaɲ]) is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France.
Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesuits. The lycée itself was founded by Napoléon Bonaparte and celebrated its bicentennial in 2004.
The lycée is directly connected to the Collège Charlemagne (formerly known as le petit lycée) which is located directly across from it, on the Rue Charlemagne.
Also the lycée offers two-year courses preparing students for entry to the Grandes écoles, divided into seven classes:
three first-year classes:
two of mathematics, physics, and engineering science
one of physics, chemistry, and engineering science
four second-year classes:
two of mathematics and physics
two of physics and chemistry.
Contents
History
The school is associated with Charlemagne Middle School that is located just opposite it, on Rue Charlemagne, and is alongside the walls of Philippe Auguste, of which only the exterior cladding still exists.
In 1580, The Cardinal de Bourbon bought the Duchess of Montmorency's Hotel of Rochepot and Damville. He gave it to the Jesuits, who demolished the main building located along the Rue Saint Antoine and replaced it with a chapel dedicated to St. Louis, in 1582.
Between 1627 and 1647, the Jesuits built a building destined to become their home on the grounds of Philippe-Auguste. This home became one of the most famous of the order. It is the home of the confessors of Kings, whose father La Chaise confessors of Louis XIV with Father Michel Le Tellier and renowned preachers such as Bourdaloue or Ménestrier and Father Pierre Cotton, which was that of Henri IV and Louis XIII.
From 1762 to 1767, the buildings were deserted after the expulsion of the Society of Jesus
under the ministry of the Duke of Choiseul.
On 23 May 1767 the Génovéfains of Sainte-Catherine-du-Val-des-Écoliers bought the House of the Jesuits for 400,000 pounds; the regular canons of the reform of Saint Genevieve left their priory of Saint Catherine of Couture (that fell into ruins) and occupied the ancient Jesuit novitiate, which they called Royal Priory of St. Louis of Couture (or culture).
They rented the large library gallery to the city of Paris. It was established from 1773 until the year 1790, the public library in the city of Paris.
At the French Revolution, the Constituent Assembly having suppressed the monastic orders, on 17 March 1795 (27 Ventose Year III) an order of the management board put the library of the Commune at the disposal of the National Institute of Sciences and Arts, who plundered the bottom (20-30 000 books).
Chapel
The chapel of St. Louis, in 1582, was replaced by the present church in 1627. King Louis XIII laid the first stone, and it was known as the Saint-Louis des Jesuits. The church was designed by two Jesuit architects, Étienne Martellange and François Derand. The first mass was celebrated on 9 May 1641 by Cardinal Richelieu, benefactor of the church in 1634, to whom he offered the beautiful oak doors carved with the initials of the Society of Jesus. Bourdaloue made her debut in 1669 and there, pronounced the funeral oration of the Grand Condé in 1687. Bossuet and Fléchier also preached. In the original chapel, was baptized in 1626 Marie-Chantal of Rabutin, the future Ms. de Sevigne.
Structure
The school welcomes seven second classes, a first and last L, a first and last ES, 1st five and six terminal S. The current headmaster is Pierrette Floc'h, succeeding Alberto Munoz in 2011.
In 2024, Lycée Charlemagne stands out as one of the top educational institutions in France, ranking 1st in Paris and 2nd nationally according to Le Parisien. This ranking highlights several factors: an exceptional graduation rate, a high percentage of students earning honors (Sufficient, Good, or Very Good), and an excellent rate of progression from the 10th grade to the baccalaureate. Additionally, the school shows remarkable added value (calculated from the social background of students, their age and their results at national certificate), reflecting the effectiveness of its teaching and support in improving student performance compared to initial expectations.
Le Figaro ranks Lycée Charlemagne 7th nationally and 6th in Paris, based on graduation and honors rates for the general baccalaureate in 2023 and the school’s support of students from the 10th grade to graduation. These rankings are based on data provided by the Ministry of National Education and Youth, confirming the institution’s quality and effectiveness.
It also hosts preparatory classes for schools, namely two classes of MPSI, a class of HPIC for the first year, an MP, and a PC for the second year.
In 2015, L'Étudiant gave the following ranking for competitions in 2014:
Notable alumni
Claude Allègre, geochemist and politician
Mathieu Amalric, actor and director
Jean-Charles Alphand (1817–1891), engineer of roads and bridges
Henry Aron (1842–1885), journalist
Henry-Clément Sanson, executioner
Xavier Aubryet, writer
Honoré de Balzac, (1799–1850), novelist
Gérard Baste, singer and TV presenter
Adrien Berbrugger, archaeologist
Maurice Berteaux, minister of war, killed by an airplane
Francis Blanche, actor
Louis Auguste Blanqui, republican
Léon Blum, politician
Louis Bourdon, mathematician
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, physicist
Jean Cassou, poet, resistant
Ernest Cauvin, politician
Maurice Cocagnac, Dominican
Fustel de Coulanges, historian
Victor Cousin, philosopher
Louis Delluc, director
Dante Desarthe, director
Former teachers
Auguste Angellier (1848-1911), anglicist, literary critic
Jean Bayet (1882-1969), a Latin scholar, member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Louis Benaerts (1868-1941), historian
Elie Bloncourt (1896-1978), MP, member of the High Court
Jean-Louis Burnouf (1775-1844), a Latin scholar, member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Félicien Challaye
Eugène Charles Catalan (1814-1894), mathematician
Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889), chemist
Paul Couderc (1899-1981), astronomer
Fabié François (1846-1928), Aveyron poet
Louis-Benjamin Francoeur (1773-1849), mathematician, member of the Academy of Sciences
Louis Gallouédec (1864-1937), Inspector General, Chairman of the General Council of Loiret
Pierre George (1909-2006), geographer, member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences
Rodolphe Guilland (1888-1981), historian, Byzantinist
Alexandre Langlois (1788-1854), Indian scholar, translator of the Rig-veda, member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Gustave Lanson (1857-1934), critic and literary historian