Modern Parisian district La Défense will continue to expand and grow

Paris - The French government has greenlit further development of the Paris district of La Défense, which, due to its modern architecture, is also a destination for numerous visitors to the city. The first phase will involve the renovation of some high-rise buildings, while the second will include the construction of new ones, some of which are expected to significantly exceed the existing ones in height. The originally planned construction of a skyscraper approximately 400 meters tall, which would be taller than the Eiffel Tower, has been dropped from the plans. The goal of this operation is to make Paris more attractive to foreign companies.
The plans were presented at Tuesday's meeting of the EPAD company, which manages the district. They are budgeted up until 2020. Critics point out that the plans only account for a minimal number of new residential units, thereby further deepening the character of La Défense as a dehumanized office district.
In the first phase, an additional 150,000 square meters of office space is to be constructed, with a further 850,000 in the second phase. Currently, there are 3.3 million square meters of office space.
The new plans are based on the belief that without modernization and expansion of La Défense, Paris will continue to lose its attractiveness to large global companies in competition with London, Frankfurt, or Barcelona. The newspaper Le Parisien wrote that of the ten global groups that were located in La Défense in 1995, only three remain there now.
An international competition will be announced for the project of the new tall landmark of La Défense. Currently, the tallest building in the district is the 180-meter high headquarters of TotalFinaElf, and another landmark is the 110-meter high Grande Arche.
The district was primarily constructed in the 1970s and 1980s. 150,000 people commute here for work.