Abstract (FR)

Following the English example, a series of five Great Exhibitions have been held in Paris between 1855 and 1900. Unlike the British case, it was more difficult to gather financial contributions from private partners in France, so financial resources were alocated mainly by the French Government and the City of Paris and the use made of public funds had to be overlooked by codified rules and principles. These Great Exhibitions are held while the principles of public finances have just been defined. So these principles are applied in the financial organisation of these events in order to control the allocation and use of financial resources. The objective of this paper is to study the implementation of public finance principles in order to manage these exhibitions. Our research is based on documents of the National Archives of France and on official reports available at the Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs.