Arc de Triomphe in the context of "Bastille Day military parade"

The Rive Droite (French: [ʁiv dʁwat]; French for 'Right Bank') is most commonly associated with the river Seine in central Paris. Here, the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two parts. When facing downstream, the northern bank is to the right, whereas the southern bank (or Rive Gauche) is to the left.

The Rive Droite's most famous street is the Champs-Élysées, with others of prominence being the Rue de la Paix, Rue de Rivoli, Avenue de l'Opéra and Avenue Montaigne. The President of France resides on the Rive Droite, at the Élysée Palace. Notable landmarks include the Louvre, Place de la République and Arc de Triomphe.

A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, typically crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be mounted or which bears commemorative inscriptions. The main structure is often decorated with carvings, sculpted reliefs, and dedications. More elaborate triumphal arches may have multiple archways, or in a tetrapylon, passages leading in four directions.

Triumphal arches are one of the most influential and distinctive types of ancient Roman architecture. Effectively invented by the Romans, and using their skill in making arches and vaults, the Roman triumphal arch was used to commemorate victorious generals or significant public events such as the founding of new colonies, the construction of a road or bridge, the death of a member of the imperial family or the accession of a new emperor.

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (UK: /ˌʃɒ̃z eɪˈliːzeɪ, ɛ-/, US: /ʃɒ̃z ˌeɪliˈzeɪ/; French: [av(ə)ny de ʃɑ̃z‿elize] ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. The avenue is 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its theatres, cafés, and luxury shops; as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race; and for its annual Bastille Day military parade.

The name is French for the Elysian Fields, the place for dead heroes in Greek mythology. It has been described as the "most beautiful avenue in the whole world".

Isle de France (Modern French: Île de France, pronounced [il də fʁɑ̃s] ) was a French colony in the Indian Ocean from 1715 to 1810, comprising the island now known as Mauritius and its dependent territories. It was governed by the French East India Company and formed part of the French colonial empire. Under the French, the island witnessed major changes. The increasing importance of agriculture led to the "import" of slaves and the undertaking of vast infrastructural works that transformed the capital Port Louis into a major port, warehousing, and commercial centre.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Isle de France became a base from which the French navy, including squadrons under Rear Admiral Linois or Commodore Jacques Hamelin, and corsairs such as Robert Surcouf, organised raids on British merchant ships. The raids (see Battle of Pulo Aura and Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811) continued until 1810 when the British sent a strong expedition to capture the island. The first British attempt, in August 1810, to attack Grand Port resulted in a French victory, one celebrated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. A subsequent and much larger attack launched in December of the same year from Rodrigues, which had been captured a year earlier, was successful. The British landed in large numbers in the north of the island and rapidly overpowered the French, who capitulated (see Invasion of Isle de France). In the Treaty of Paris (1814), the French ceded Isle de France together with its territories including Agaléga, the Cargados Carajos Shoals, the Chagos Archipelago, Rodrigues, Seychelles, and Tromelin Island to the United Kingdom. The island then reverted to its former name, 'Mauritius'.

The 16th arrondissement of Paris (le XVI arrondissement; French pronunciation: [lə sɛzjɛm aʁɔ̃dismɑ̃]) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine to the southwest. Across the Seine are the 7th and 15th arrondissements.

Notable sights of the 16th arrondissement include the Arc de Triomphe (at the junction with the 8th and 17th arrondissements) and the Place du Trocadéro, where the Palais de Chaillot stands. This complex is used for three museums and one theatre. Other museums and cultural venues are also located in this arrondissement, including the Louis Vuitton Foundation opened in 2014.

The 8th arrondissement of Paris (VIII arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as le huitième (lit. 'the eighth').

The arrondissement, called Élysée, is situated on the right bank of the River Seine and centered on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The 8th arrondissement is, together with the 1st, 9th, 16th and 17th arrondissements, one of Paris' main business districts. According to the 1999 census, it was the place of employment of more people than any other single arrondissement of the capital. It is also the location of many places of interest, among them the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe (partial) and the Place de la Concorde, as well as the Élysée Palace, the official residence and office of the President of France.

François Rude (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa ʁyd]; 4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) was a French sculptor, best known for the Departure of the Volunteers, also known as La Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (1835–36). His work often expressed patriotic themes, as well as the transition from neo-classicism to romanticism.

Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers (/tiˈɛər/ tee-AIR; French: [maʁi ʒozɛf lwi adɔlf tjɛʁ]; 15 April 1797 – 3 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic.

Thiers was a key figure in the July Revolution of 1830, which overthrew King Charles X in favor of the more liberal King Louis Philippe, and the Revolution of 1848, which overthrew the July Monarchy and established the Second French Republic. He served as a prime minister in 1836 and 1840, dedicated the Arc de Triomphe, and arranged the return to France of the remains of Napoleon from Saint-Helena. He was first a supporter, then a vocal opponent of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (who served from 1848 to 1852 as President of the Second Republic and then reigned as Emperor Napoleon III from 1852 to 1871). When Napoleon III seized power, Thiers was arrested and briefly expelled from France. He then returned and became an opponent of the government.

A tetrapylon (plural tetrapyla; Greek: τετράπυλον, lit. 'four gates'; Latin: quadrifrons, lit. 'four fronts', also used in English) is a rectangular form of monument with arched passages in two directions, at right angles, generally built on a crossroads. They appear in ancient Roman architecture, usually as a form of the Roman triumphal arch at significant crossroads or geographical "focal points".

A tetrapylon was effectively a 'doubling' of the original triumphal arch form; with a total of four major arched openings, one on each side of the structure (one pair of openings opposite each other along one axis, and a second pair of openings of equal or lesser prominence perpendicular to the first pair; hence a structure with two barrel vaulted passageways, in the form of a cross). Roman examples are usually roughly square in plan, with the crossing archways of the same size; in some later examples, the plan is oblong, with the longer sides having a larger archway as for example at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.