Louvre Claude Monet. The Louvre is slightly askew of the Historic Axis ("Axe historique"), a roughly eight-kilometre (five-mile) architectural line bisecting the city. It begins on the east in the Louvre courtyard and runs west along the Champs-Élysées. In 1871, the burning of the Tuileries Palace by the Paris Commune revealed that the Louvre was slightly askew of the "Axe" despite past appearances to the contrary. The Louvre can be reached by the Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre Métro or the Louvre-Rivoli stations. The Louvre has three entrances: the main entrance at the pyramid, an entrance from the Carrousel du
Paris in the 18th century hall within the Tuileries Palace. The Committee of Public Safety, charged with hunting down the enemies of the Revolution, established its headquarters close by in the "Pavillon de Flore" of the Louvre, while the Tribunal, the revolutionary court, set up its courtroom within the old Royal Palace on the "Île-de-la-Cité", inside what is now the "Palais de Justice". The Commune, the government of Paris, also held elections, but these were won by the more moderate members, known as the "Girondins", rather than the more radical faction, the "Montagnards", largely because the election, unlike the Convention vote, was by secret ballot.