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- 1. Visual released by the French National Assembly showing the
new building constructed to the right of the colonnade
© Moatti & Rivière - See the image in its page
25/6/25 - Heritage - Paris, Assemblée nationale - Since last Sunday, when the news of a glass building being constructed by the Assemblée nationale to the right of the colonnade was revealed via social media, and since the publication of our article, things have moved very quickly. The seriousness of the project and its opacity (paradoxical, given that it ostensibly promotes the concept of transparency...) prompted the association Sites & Monuments - active on all fronts in the defense of heritage - to take two decisions. First, the launch of a petition, and second, the intention to challenge the building permit as soon as it is granted, should that unfortunate eventuality arise.
A petition, then. One more, some will say. But it is undeniably a very effective means of mobilization, if only to gain visibility in the media. Moreover, petitions succeed more often than one might think in making things happen. La Tribune de l’Art is not meant to be permanently launching this type of initiative, and for now we are quite occupied keeping this one about the stained-glass windows of Notre-Dame alive (which is approaching 300,000 signatures, but has not yet reached that number). But of course, we fully support the one just launched by the association and join it ourselves. We invite all our readers - and all signatories of the one about the stained-glass windows - to sign it. A petition, to be successful, must concern a subject sufficiently important and unifying. This one clearly qualifies, and there is no doubt that it will gain momentum.
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- 2. Visual published by Le Figaro showing the
new building constructed to the right of the colonnade
© Moatti & Rivière - See the image in its page
We do not yet know the position of the Ministry of Culture, which assured us it was discovering the matter. One can at least imagine that it will be embarrassed by it. For the ministry is currently multiplying protections under Historic Monument status and is deeply involved in the creation of a major *site patrimonial remarquable* (remarkable heritage site) in the first seven arrondissements of Paris and within the UNESCO World Heritage zone. How could it - at the very same moment - tolerate that in a location already included in both of these zones (the Assemblée nationale lies within the remarkable heritage site of the 7th arrondissement, which, moreover, is the arrondissement where the Minister of Culture is also the mayor), such a project might go ahead?
The Assemblée nationale, which presents itself as “transparent,” had released only a single rendering. The architecture firm, which we contacted, did not send us any others, but some can be found in an article just published by Le Figaro (ill. 2). The firm’s intentions are also described in the design rationale it shared with us - the only document it provided when we asked for additional images. It includes statements such as: “Faced with this monumentality [of the colonnade] our project first and foremost embodies a gesture of welcome. The entrance through the Cour du Pont is the promise of it. It offers visitors the power of an invitation” or again, “The undulation of the pavilion façade evokes the classical rhythm of colonnades [and] promises an experience and an initiation.” As for the “four glass pillars” (sic), they “symbolize in plain sight the four principles of the Republic: ‘Indivisible, Secular, Democratic and Social’”;
Sic again.
Sign the petition and send those four glass pillars back into the portfolios from which they should never have emerged.