48°53′44″N 2°23′17″E / 48.89556°N 2.38806°E
The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (French pronunciation: [site de sjɑ̃s e də lɛ̃dystʁi], "City of Science and Industry", abbreviated la CSI) or simply CSI is a large science museum in Europe. Located in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is one of the three dozen French Cultural Centers of Science, Technology and Industry (CCSTI), promoting science and science culture.
The Parc de la Villette (French pronunciation: [paʁk də la vilɛt]) is the third-largest park in Paris, 55.5 hectares (137 acres) in area, located at the northeastern edge of the city in the 19th arrondissement. The park houses one of the largest concentrations of cultural venues in Paris, including the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (City of Science and Industry, Europe's largest science museum), three major concert venues, and the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris.
Parc de la Villette is served by Paris Métro stations Corentin Cariou on Line 7 and Porte de Pantin on Line 5.
Weights and Measures Acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. The earliest of these were originally untitled but were given descriptive glosses or titles based upon the monarch under whose reign they were promulgated. Several omnibus modern acts have the short title "Weights and Measures Act" and are distinguished by the year of their enactment.
Porte de la Villette (French pronunciation: [pɔʁt də la vilɛt]) is a station of the Paris Métro. The origin of the commune of the Villette was a Gallo-Roman village, which grew up on the Roman road that led to eastern Flanders. About 1198, it became Ville Neuve Saint-Ladre and by 1426 it was called Villette-Saint-Miser-lez-Paris. The commune became a part of Paris in 1860. The nearby gate in Paris' 19th century walls hence became known as the Porte de la Villette.
The nearby Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, located in the Parc de la Villette, is the biggest science museum in Europe. The glass and steel building was designed by Peter Rice and it was opened in 1986.
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (UK: /ˌʒiːskɑːr dɛˈstæ̃/, US: /ʒɪˌskɑːr -/; French: [valeʁi ʁəne maʁi ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaʁ dɛstɛ̃] ; 2 February 1926 – 2 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ministers Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Messmer, Giscard d'Estaing won the presidential election of 1974 with 50.8% of the vote against François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party. His tenure was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues—such as divorce, contraception and abortion—and by attempts to modernise the country and the office of the presidency, notably overseeing such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the TGV and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. Giscard d'Estaing launched the Grande Arche, Musée d'Orsay, Arab World Institute and Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie projects in the Paris region, later included in the Grands Projets of François Mitterrand. He promoted liberalisation of trade; however, his popularity suffered from the economic downturn that followed the 1973 energy crisis, marking the end of the Trente Glorieuses (the "Thirty Glorious Years" of prosperity after 1945). He imposed austerity budgets, and allowed unemployment to rise in order to avoid deficits. Giscard d'Estaing in the centre faced political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly unified left under Mitterrand and a rising Jacques Chirac, who resurrected Gaullism on a right-wing opposition line. In 1981, despite a high approval rating, he was defeated in a runoff against Mitterrand, with 48.2% of the vote.