THE destroyed Tuileries Palace, once home to French kings and emperors, could be rebuilt after the French government formed a commission of eminent historians and politicians to draw plans for its restoration.

If approved, the 300 million euro ( pounds 200 million) construction project - between the Louvre museum and the Place de la Concorde - would create a replica of the palace before it was torched by a group of extremists in 1871.

The Palais des Tuileries was built for Catherine de' Medici in 1564. It was gradually extended over three centuries until it spanned 300 yards to link the north and south wings of the Louvre museum.

By the mid-nineteenth century the walls of this vast complex enclosed a square where today the Louvre pyramid stands.