Archives nationales de France

The Archives nationales preserve the archives of the central bodies of the French State, with the exception of the collections from the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. They were created by decree of the Constituent Assembly in 1790. This national service has been under the Ministry of Culture since its creation in 1959. The headquarters of the Archives are located in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, but some collections are kept in Paris. These two sites hold a total of 373 linear kilometres of archives, documenting the history of France from the 7th century to the present day.

Some collections of national interest are preserved in two other services: the Archives nationales d'outre-mer in Aix-en-Provence (archives of the colonies) and the Archives nationales du monde du travail in Roubaix (private archives of businesses and associations).

The Ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance, and Europe and Foreign Affairs have had their own archive services since the 18th century, respectively called the Service historique de la Défense (SHD), the Service des archives économiques et financières (SAEF), and the Archives diplomatiques. The archives of the State's decentralised services are preserved by the Archives départementales.

Reuse rights for documents held by the Archives nationales are free of charge.