ABOVE:
The sprawling
site of Paris CDG, which covers more
than 12.7sq miles
(33km2) across three
departments and
six communes
SI IMAGING SERVICES/ IMAZINS/GETTY IMAGES
In 1957, the French government decided that its capital required a new airport to relieve the pressure on the city’s other facility, Orly and fully replace Le Bourget. A suitable site, located 16 miles (25km) north of Paris, was eventually chosen with land in three départements: Seineet Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-d’Oise. One of the communities in the area is Roissy-en-France, and even today, Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is occasionally referred to as Paris Roissy or Roissy Airport.
Planning for the new airport, to be known as Aéroport de Paris Nord (Paris North), began in earnest. Designers, led by chief engineer Jacques Block, were keen to ensure that the new facility would be one of Europe’s largest, most efficient, and most sophisticated.