The France pavilion opened with the rest of World Showcase on October 1, 1971. The pavilion is themed to look like Paris, between the years 1871–1914. In France this period is known as Belle Époque (beautiful age). The back of the pavilion incorporates the small towns and provinces in France, in the form of “Le Petite Rue” a small and quaint street. On way that guests can enter the pavilion is by crossing a metal bridge. The bridge is based on the Point des Arts, the first metal bridge in Paris and the waterway that it crosses over is meant to be the Seine River. The focal point of the pavilion is a recreation of the Eiffel Tower, which was built at approximately 1/10 scale of the original. Also of note is a park based on “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island La Grande Jatte” by the French artist Georges Seura. Although the park is pleasant to look at, it is not accessible to guests.
[[Image:Francepavilion.jpg|200px|thumb|Concept Art for the France Pavilion, showing the Palais du Cinema as round.]]
When the France pavilion originally opened, it featured two table service restaurants: Les Chefs de France, and Au Petit Café. Both restaurants proved to be extremely popular, and due to demand, the Bistro de Paris was built. The new table service restaurant was constructed on the second floor of the Les Chefs de France restaurant, replacing the office buildings that were previously housed there. Another change to France’s restaurants came in 1997, when Disney decided to merge Au Petite Café with Les Chefs de France. The restaurant reopened as an expanded version of Les Chefs de France later that year.
The French pavilion is also home to the Impressions De France movie. The attraction is held in the Palais du Cinema, which was based on a theater in Fontainebleau. Impression’s De France is a travelogue which tours various parts of France, while classical music arranged by Buddy Baker plays.
==Attractions==