Palais-Royal in the context of "Éminence Grise (painting)"

The Ministry of Culture (French: Ministère de la Culture [ministɛʁ də la kyltyʁ]) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the monuments historiques. Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, plastic, theatrical, musical, dance, architectural, literary, televisual and cinematographic) on national soil and abroad. Its budget is mainly dedicated to the management of the Archives Nationales (six national sites and hundred decentralised storage facilities) and the regional Maisons de la culture (culture centres).

Its main office is in the Palais-Royal in the 1st arrondissement of Paris on the Rue de Valois. It is headed by the Minister of Culture, a cabinet member. The current officeholder has been Rachida Dati since 11 January 2024.

An éminence grise (French pronunciation: [eminɑ̃s ɡʁiz]) or gray eminence is a powerful decision-maker or advisor who operates covertly in a nonpublic or unofficial capacity.

The original French phrase referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man of Cardinal Richelieu, the de facto ruler of France. Leclerc was a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and wore the gray-colored robe of that Franciscan order, which led them to use the familiar nickname the "Grayfriars" in the names of many Franciscan friaries throughout Medieval Europe. The color was less significant than its unmistakable contrast with the brilliant red worn by Richelieu as cardinal. The style "Your Eminence" or "His Eminence" is used to address or refer to a cardinal in the Catholic Church. Although Leclerc was never raised to the rank of cardinal, those around him addressed him as "eminence" as if he were one in deference to his close association with "His Eminence the Cardinal Richelieu".Leclerc is referred to in several popular works such as a biography by Aldous Huxley. An 1873 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, L'Éminence grise, depicts him descending the grand staircase of the Palais-Royal–originally called the Palais-Cardinal when it was built for Richelieu in the 1630s–engrossed in reading a book as an array of courtiers bow deeply towards him. The painting won the Medal of Honor at the 1874 Paris Salon. Leclerc is referred to in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers as the character Father Joseph, a powerful associate of Richelieu and one to be feared.

The Comédie-Française (French: [kɔmedi fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ), or Théâtre-Français (French: [teɑtʁ(ə) fʁɑ̃sɛ] ), is a state theatre in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is one of the few in the nation and the only to have its own permanent troupe of actors. The company's primary venue is the Salle Richelieu, a part of the Palais-Royal complex located at 2 Rue de Richelieu on Place André-Malraux in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.

The theatre has also been known as the Théâtre de la République, and popularly as "La Maison de Molière" (The House of Molière). It acquired the latter name from the troupe of its best-known playwright, Molière, considered the patron of French actors. He died seven years before his troupe became known as the Comédie-Française, but the company continued to be known as "La Maison de Molière" even after the official change of name.

In France, the Conseil d'État ([kɔ̃sɛj deta]; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme administrative court (one of the two branches of the French judiciary system). Established in 1799 by Napoleon as a successor to the King's Council (Conseil du Roi), it is located in the Palais-Royal in Paris and is primarily made up of top-level legal officers. The Vice President of the Council of State ranks as the ninth most important civil servant in France.

Members of the Council of State are part of a Grand Corps of the French State (Grand corps de l'État). The Council of State mainly recruits from among the top-ranking students graduating from the École nationale d'administration.

The Constitutional Council (French: Conseil constitutionnel, [kɔ̃sɛj kɔ̃stitysjɔnɛl]) is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 to ensure that constitutional principles and rules are upheld. It is housed in the Palais-Royal in Paris. Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed statutes conform with the Constitution, after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the president of the republic (a priori review), or passed by the government as a decree, which has law status in many domains, a right granted to the government under delegation of Parliament.

Since 1 March 2010, individual citizens who are party to a trial or a lawsuit have been able to ask for the council to review whether the law applied in the case is constitutional (a posteriori review). In 1971, the council ruled that conformity with the Constitution also entails conformity with two other texts referred to in the preamble of the Constitution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the preamble of the constitution of the Fourth Republic, both of which list constitutional rights.

Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (French: [lysi sɛ̃plis kamij bənwa demulɛ̃]; 2 March 1760 – 5 April 1794) was a French journalist, politician and a prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Storming of the Bastille. Desmoulins was also noted for his radical criticism of the Reign of Terror as the editor of the journal Le Vieux Cordelier. He was a schoolmate and close friend of Maximilien Robespierre and a close friend and political ally of Georges Danton, who were leading figures in the French Revolution.

A lawyer by training, Desmoulins was enthralled by the Revolution from its outbreak. On 12 July 1789, shortly after Louis XVI dismissed his popular finance minister Jacques Necker, Desmoulins delivered an impassioned call to arms to a crowd before the Palais-Royal. His agitation sparked widespread unrest in Paris, which culminated in the Storming of the Bastille two days later. Through his newfound fame, Desmoulins quickly established himself as a prominent radical pamphleteer. He advocated explicitly in favour of republicanism and revolutionary violence, and mounted relentless attacks on not only the Ancien Régime, but also once-sympathetic revolutionary figures such as Jacques Pierre Brissot. His campaigns ultimately contributed to the fall of the Girondist faction and the beginning of the Reign of Terror.

The Théâtre du Palais-Royal (French pronunciation: [teɑtʁ dy palɛ ʁwajal]; or Grande Salle du Palais-Royal) on the rue Saint-Honoré in Paris was a theatre in the east wing of the Palais-Royal, which opened on 14 January 1641 with a performance of Jean Desmarets' tragicomedy Mirame. The theatre was used by the troupe of Molière from 1660 to 1673 and as an opera house by the Académie Royale de Musique from 1673 to 1763, when it was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1770, but again was destroyed by fire in 1781 and not rebuilt.