Imagine students hurrying through these very gates. This is the Collège Condorcet one of Paris’s oldest and most esteemed high schools. It stands at 8 rue du Havre in the 9th arrondissement. Since its founding in 1803, Collège Condorcet has seen many names and eras. Today, its name honors the Marquis de Condorcet.
Collège Condorcet is not just old it is historically significant. During the 19th century, it was known as the “great Liberal High School”. Progressive families chose it for their sons. It offered a relatively flexible academic environment. Unlike many schools, Collège Condorcet never had boarders. Students lived nearby and were managed by “maitres de pension”.
The school’s name has changed with the times. It was once Lycée de la Chaussée d’Antin in 1804. Then it became Lycée impérial Bonaparte. From 1815 to 1848 it was Collège royal de Bourbon. It reverted to Lycée impérial Bonaparte until 1870. For a short time, it was Lycée Fontane. Since 1883, it has been known as Collège Condorcet.
Preparatory classes at Collège Condorcet are very old. Famous teachers like Jean-Paul Sartre taught here. Many notable figures have walked these halls. Marcel Proust and Paul Verlaine were students here. Jean Beaufret and Stéphane Mallarmé were teachers.
Before becoming a school, this site was a convent. Louis XV invited Capuchin monks here in the 1780s. Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart transformed the buildings. But the convent became a national property after the Revolution in 1789.
Collège Condorcet’s location near Gare Saint-Lazare made it popular. By 1879, it had 1600 students. The school even rented shops on rue de Rome for classrooms. This was because of overcrowding. Interestingly, Collège Condorcet never had an on-site boarding facility.
In 1924, the school began admitting women into preparatory classes. Anne Chopinet, a student here was the first woman to pass the École Polytechnique entrance exam in 1972. The Collège Condorcet has been a training ground for important figures. Former President Sadi Carnot attended this school. So did Baron Haussmann Marcel Proust Louis de Funès Jacques Dutronc and Serge Gainsbourg.
But why “Condorcet”? Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat Marquis de Condorcet was a mathematician economist and political thinker. He was a symbol of the Enlightenment. He was known for his work on probability. He advocated educational and penal reforms. He died in prison during the Revolution.
Here is an interesting fact In May 1968 students renamed Collège Condorcet “Lycée Karl Marx”. They later realized Condorcet himself was a revolutionary. So the name Collège Condorcet returned. The Collège Condorcet stands as a testament to history education and change. It remains a place of learning and growth in the heart of Paris.