Hôtel du Châtelet

The Hôtel du Châtelet is a hôtel particulier in Paris. It is located at 127, rue de Grenelle, in the 7th arrondissement, and is now the home of the Ministère du Travail, de la Solidarité et de la Fonction Publique et la résidence du ministre du Travail, de la Solidarité et de la Fonction publique.

It was commissioned from Mathurin Cherpitel in 1770 by the Comte Marie-Florent du Châtelet-Losmont and completed in 1776. On the comte's guillotining in 1777, the Hôtel was inscribed on the list of civil buildings, and from 1796 to 1807 served as the headquarters of the École des Ponts et Chaussées. From 1807 to 1830 it was attached to the Imperial, and later Royal, Household, and from 1830 to 1849 served as the Turkish, followed by the Austrian, embassies. In 1849, Napoleon III's government offered the hôtel to the archbishop of Paris (the latter's palace having burned down in 1831), following renovations financed by the state. From 1849 to 1905 the building's main body served as the archepiscopal residence. On the separation of church and state in 1905, the state took back possession of the building, granting it in 1907 to the ministère du travail et de la prévoyance sociale. Following restoration in 1908, it became the headquarters of the ministry. In 1968, it was the site of the signature of the Grenelle agreements.