'King Chirac' has designs on Versailles - French Architecture News 2003

The Telegraph

President Jacques Chirac has ordered a 17-year, Ł270 million refurbishment of Louis XIV's chateau at Versailles in the hope of leaving his mark on French architecture. The highlight of the renovation will be the restoration of the royal courtyard and the gates, emblazoned with the royal insignia, torn down and melted by the revolutionaries in 1793. The gates were part of the original design of the palace, which was built by Louis XIV to escape the smells and clamour of Paris.

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