Military governor of Paris

The military governor of Paris is a post within the French Army.

He is also responsible (subordinate to the President of France) for organizing major national ceremonies such as the Bastille Day military parade down the Champs-Élysées.

The foundation of the post is blurred, but it has subsequently evolved in two phases.

Under the Ancien Régime, its role was limited in comparison to his colleagues in the provinces, who represented the King of France in his absence, whereas in Paris the King was present.

The post was dispensed with at the time of the French Revolution before being re-established by Napoleon in 1804, when it was reinforced by becoming a military-command role.

French president François Mitterrand and military governor of Paris Hervé Navereau reviewing troops during the 1989 Bastille Day military parade
Charles II d'Amboise , governor of Paris from 1493 to 1496
François de L'Hospital , governor of Paris from 1648 to 1657
Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte , commander of the Armed Forces in Paris from 1795 to 1796
Marshal Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon , military governor of Paris from 1816 to 1819
Marshal François Certain de Canrobert , military governor of Paris from 1865 to 1870
General Henri Zeller , military governor of Paris from 1953 to 1957