The La Défense economic center is visible from the terraces of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Initiated in the 1960s, it aims to be an economic place bringing together the headquarters of large banking and insurance companies. A stone's throw from Porte Maillot, La Défense allows many French people to find a large-scale shopping center and work near Paris and the western suburbs. Former President François Mitterrand chose it for the erection, 364 ft high (111 m), of the Grande Arche inscribed in the perspective of the Arc de Triomphe.