influence in the technical field. While they could have turned to an engineering profession associated with industry, the Polytechnicians instead reinforced their sovereign vocation by joining the “state nobility” of the Second French Empire, whose origins, interests and convictions they gradually shared. The years 1860-1870 marked an important evolution since the School became more of a "conservatory of sciences" than a center of research and innovation, while extending its hold on the management of the industrial apparatus. The World Wars During World War I, the students were mobilized and the school building was transformed into a hospital. No national entrance exam was held in 1915. More than eight hundred students died during the war. In 1921, students of foreign nationalities were allowed to take the entrance exam for the first time. During the Second World War, the École Polytechnique was transferred to Lyon in the free zone, lost its military status, and its Parisian buildings were given to the Red Cross. More than four hundred students died during the war (Free French, French Resistance, Nazi camps). From post-war to today In 1944, the School was again placed under the administration of the Ministry of War. In 1970, the School became a state-sponsored civilian institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence. The first female students were admitted in 1972. One woman, Anne Chopinet, was class valedictorian. In 1976, the School moved from the center of Paris to Palaiseau, in the southern suburbs. In 1985, it began awarding doctoral degrees. In 1994, the bicentennial celebration was presided over by President François Mitterrand. In 1995, a new entrance exam was set up for international students and in 2000, the Ingénieur Polytechnicien was extended from 3 to 4 years. Locations Early locations In 1794, École Polytechnique was first housed in the Palais Bourbon. A year later, it moved to the Hôtel de Lassay, a in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Montagne Saint-Geneviève (1805–1976) In 1805, when he placed the School under military administration, Napoleon transferred it to the Quartier Latin, in the former premises of the colleges of Navarre, Tournai and Boncourt, now the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. The Paris campus was located near the Panthéon, at 5 rue Descartes, and was nicknamed "Carva" by the students. Palaiseau (from 1976) Located in the suburbs of Paris, about from the city center, École Polytechnique is a campus-based institution. It offers teaching