La Défense is a major business district for the city of Paris, bordering Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Around its 100 m-high Grande Arche and esplanade ("le Parvis"), this district holds many of the Paris urban area's tallest high-rises. With its 77.5 acres, its 72 glass-and-steel slick buildings including 14 high-rises above 150 m, its 150 000 daily workers and 3.5 million square meters of office space, La Défense is Europe's largest Business District.
La Défense is named for the statue, La Défense de Paris, which was built in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
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