It owes its name to its location north of the École militaire, at the end of the south-eastern perspective of the Champ de Mars.

It was founded in 1750 on the proposal of the financier Joseph Paris Duverney, with the support of Madame de Pompadour, with the aim of creating an academic college for cadets of humble origins.

From the 1950s until the 2000s, the station's walls were covered with a metallic panels with green horizontal uprights and golden and illuminated advertising frames.

As part of the RATP Renouveau du métro programme, the station corridors were renovated on 25 June 2004, then the platforms in 2007, resulting in the removal of their metal bodywork.

Established flush with the ground, the ceiling is made up of a metal deck, the silver-coloured beams of which are supported by vertical walls.