Changes

The France pavilion opened with the rest of World Showcase on October 1, 1982. The pavilion is themed to look like Paris between the years 1871–1914, which is known as the Belle Époque (beautiful age) in France<ref name= "Martin"/>. 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. One 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 is meant to represent the Seine River<ref name= "Spence"> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2011/09/epcots_france_pavilion_part_on.html </ref>. The focal point of the pavilion is a recreation of the Eiffel Tower, which was built at approximately 1/10 scale of the original<ref name= "Spence"/>. Also of note is a park based on “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island La Grande Jatte” by the French artist Georges Seura<ref name= "Spence"/>. Although the park is pleasant to look at, it is not accessible to guests.

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 in 1984<ref> https://d23.com/a-to-z/bistro-de-paris/ </ref>. This 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<Ref name= "Jack"> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2011/09/france_pavilion_part_two.html </ref>. The restaurant reopened as an expanded version of Les Chefs de France later that year<ref name= "Jack"/>.

Besides its many restaurants, the France pavilion is also home to the Impressions de France film. The attraction is held in the Palais du Cinema, which was based on a theater in Fontainebleau<ref name= "Jack"/>. Impression’s De France is a travelogue which tours various parts of France, while a score of classical music arranged by Buddy Baker plays<ref name= "Martin"/>.