Upon completion in 1995 the 167-metre-tall towers of Société Générale were the tallest skyscrapers in Paris. They were built and opened to become the head office of the Société Générale – one of France’s largest banking groups. Both towers stand on the same platform, 40 metres apart, and have exactly the same exterior design and sharply inclined roof.
The northern tower is named Tour Alicante and the southern one Tour Chassagne. In its interior design, Chassagne is decorated with white stone from the village of Chassagne in Auvergne, whereas Alicante is decorated with red marble from Alicante in Spain. Despite the large office space available in the current twin towers, Société Générale needed yet more space so it launched the construction of a third skyscraper, the 183-metre-tall Tour Granite, which stands immediately behind the twin towers and was opened in 2008.