Hardly had the 1889 exhibition been completed than plans were afoot for 1900. In 1892, the papers claimed that Prussia was preparing to stage a Universal Exhibition in Berlin in 1900. French popular opinion was stung and the President of the Republic, Sadi Carnot, officially decreed that the 1900 Exhibition would take place in Paris.
The year 1900 clearly had strong symbolic significance, spelt out by the Minister of Trade, Jules Roche, in his report to the French President: "[1900] will mark the end of a century of prodigious artistic, scientific and economic development; it will also be the threshold of an era that, according to philosophers, will be one of greatness, and the realities of which will most certainly go far beyond anything our imagination has so far dreamed".
As the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, it was universally agreed that the Exhibition had to outdo the 1889 edition in grandeur and ambition; but how? What could be more exciting than the Eiffel Tower, the Palais des Machines, the tribes from far-flung countries, the telephone line installed in the Opera House district? All these attractions were sources of fascination to the contemporary public.
Qu'à cela ne tienne, on trouvera encore mieux. L'exploit ne sera pas technique mais architectural – et qui sait, peut-être les deux en même temps ! L'idée du Grand Palais commence à germer. Il s'agirait de créer un édifice consacré aux beaux-arts le long d'une nouvelle perspective reliant l'esplanade des Invalides aux Champs-Élysées, ce qui bouleverserait la face de la capitale. Pour mieux imposer ce projet, place à un concours d'idées. Et que le meilleur gagne !
