Unity in Identity, Disunity in Execution: Expressions of French National Identity at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair

The 1937 Paris World’s Fair was a celebration of “peace” and “progress” at time when the continent was about to descend into total war. In this era of feuding ideologies and hyper-competitive nationalism, France’s attempt to project an idealized national identity fell scattered. A closer examination of three examples of French architecture—the Palais de Chaillot, the Regional Pavilions, and the Pavilion de Temps Nouveaux—illustrate that this idealized portrayal of unity was undermined by the execution of the buildings themselves. The result was a much more accurate picture of the country during the inter-war period.