In this period of ministerial reshuffle, 25 students of EPITA from the specialization “Multimedia and Information Technology”, accompanied by the director of the major – Cyril Reinhard and the school’s director – Joel Courtois, had the privilege to do a private tour of Matignon (French Prime Minister Residence) on Saturday, November 6. This was in recognition of different applications that the students were chosen to develop as part of a project to improve communication between citizens, media and the government.
Students in fact designed, developed and deployed several applications on behalf of the State: one such application is capable of delivering real-time information, published by the government’s website, directly to a user’s computer. Besides, they built an application on the government’s website to present various ministerial team members according to a system that automatically updates the information whenever there is an event such as a ministerial reshuffle (Note: a section specifies that feature was created by EPITA students).
During their visit, the students revisited the history of Matignon since its founding in the early eighteenth century to the present day. They were also able to contemplate various hidden treasures of this house of power.
After crossing the courtyard till the entrance of the main building they walked on the polychrome marble of the grand lobby, framed by pilasters and decorated with niches and antique busts. Then they discovered the Red Room, decorated with a large Baccarat chandelier (nearly 300kg) – which owes its name to the fabric of cherry-colored silk, covering the Louis XV style chairs.
They walked through the Blue Room, where the Prime Minister receives foreign heads of state on official visits to France. They were able to admire the prestigious Yellow Room, named after the color of its furniture and the silk covering its walls. The Yellow Room served as the office for all the presidents of the Council between 1935 and 1958, including Léon Blum, Edgar Faure, Robert Schuman and Pierre Mendès-France. After contemplating the garden, the largest private garden in Paris where each Prime Minister plants a tree on his arrival, they could sit around the large table in the “salle du conseil,” that can be transformed into a large reception hall or banquet hall to best suit the occasion.
They went out past the grand staircase decorated with painted marble, leading to the office of the Prime Minister and that of some of his employees. Before leaving, the most patient students were able to get a glimpse of François Fillon, who greeted the students.