Why are there elephants, crocodiles… ?

If you look up and see the walls of this Art Deco building, you must of course wonder for which reason it has some spectacular decorations?

Today, it’s easy to find out, you just grab your phone and write the address, 34, rue Pasquier (Paris 8). So, I learnt that the building dates from 1929 and that the original occupant was a bank named “Société financière française et coloniale”.  … and of course that the building is especially known for the reliefs which decorate the walls. They were created by a well-known sculptor, Georges Saupique (1889-1961), who has left many other landmarks in Paris and elsewhere. When you have learnt that the original owner was a banking company involved in colonial business, the motives are obvious. It was less obvious to find information about the architects, Alex and Pierre Fournier, but at least I found something on Pierre (1894-1958) and learnt that he later had the title of “architecte général de la Ville de Paris”.

The father of one of our former presidents, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, was heading the bank 1930-1973. What later happened to the bank is another story and the building has now other occupants.