Heritage
À la une
-
The Beauvoisine Museum in Rouen: a ruinous and destructive project
When we met the new director of Rouen’s museums at a press briefing, he told us about the "vast architectural and museographic renovation project" for the two museums in the rue Beauvoisine, the…
Derniers articles publiés
-
A short lesson on the protection of historic monuments, for Jean-François Martins, Director of the Eiffel Tower operating company
It’s one thing for politicians to talk rubbish about the legislation governing historic monuments, but it’s quite another for them to be able to do so over and over again on the airwaves without…
-
Classification of the Eiffel Tower: what the heritage law says
While Emmanuel Grégoire, the first deputy mayor of Paris, said that he was not opposed to the classification of the Eiffel Tower and was prepared to look into the matter, Anne Hidalgo stated this…
-
The fontaine des Innocents restored, Goujon’s nymphs to join "a museum"
The restoration of the Fontaine of the Innocents is finally coming to an end. This is good news, especially as the restoration work appears to have been carried out with great care and respect…
Subscriber content -
The Rocher Mistral affair. False pretences and real issues
On 13 February 2024, the Aix-en-Provence correctional court sentenced SAS Rocher Mistral (which had received over €6 million in public funding) and its chairman, Vianney-Marie Audemard d’Alançon,…
-
A short lesson on the protection of historic monuments, for Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris
In an excerpt widely shared on social networks, Emmanuel Grégoire is heard talking to Sud Radio about the Eiffel Tower and the request for the monument to be classified by Culture Minister Rachida…
-
Budget cancellations: a new blow to France’s heritage
The Ministry of the Budget (obviously in collusion with the Élysée Palace) has just wiped €10 billion off France’s budget with the stroke of a pen, despite the fact that the budget was debated in…
Dans cette rubrique
-
A French artist’s decor at Sant’Andrea al Quirinale
The church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale, one of Bernini’s architectural masterpieces, is certainly one of the best known in Rome. But in this city of inexhaustible heritage, even the most famous…
Subscriber content -
Back to L’Aquila (1), twelve years later
In July 2011, just over two years after the earthquake that struck the Abruzzo town of L’Aquila, we visited the restoration work underway. At the time, the city was partly off-limits, and the…
-
Sculptures from the rood screen at Notre-Dame: obstruction from the body responsible for archaeological digs
We know that the salvage excavations at the transept crossing of Notre-Dame have found, as might be expected, some of the sculptures from the 13th-century rood screen destroyed in the 18th…
-
The Drosnay church fire
It’s a tradition we could do without: as soon as a church in France burns down, the extremists go wild on social networks to denounce a supposed Islamist attack on the values of the West. But…
Subscriber content -
The heritage damage caused by the Val-de-Grâce explosion
While we cannot forget the tragic human toll of the explosion that took place at the Val-de-Grâce on 21 June, with at least one dead, four seriously injured and around fifty more slightly injured,…
-
Mr Vandal, do you accept the protection of the monument you are about to destroy?
The French system for protecting historic monuments, which used to be one of the best in the world, is severely seized up. In addition to the legislative regressions we have witnessed in recent…
-
The liturgical refurbishment of Notre-Dame will calm the debate
The Archdiocese of Paris has just announced its plans for the redevelopment of Notre-Dame de Paris, which will be submitted to the CNPA (National Commission for Heritage and Architecture) on 13…
-
The few words we’ll be writing about Carnac
The case was revealed by the "Sites & Monuments" association and made the front page of many newspapers and TV channels: work was carried out on a site in Carnac without following the INRAP…
-
Threats to the heritage of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine
The under-protection of France’s heritage, particularly in Paris, the incomprehensible lack of "sites patrimoniaux remarquables" in the capital with the exception of those in the 7th…
-
It is time to respect the Louvre Colonnade
A meeting was organized today at the Paris Centre City Hall by its mayor Ariel Weil to launch a reflection on the "Place du Louvre," an inappropriate term since this one, which is in front of the…
-
Restoration of the Porte Dorée at the Château de Fontainebleau
What remains of the original decoration? The 16th-century frescoes that adorn the Porte Dorée of the Château de Fontainebleau are in a sorry state, victims of the passage of time, climatic…
-
Surroundings of Notre-Dame: facts versus propaganda
The defense of the gardens of Notre-Dame is also a battle of communication. Thus, the article by Claire Bommelaer in Le Figaro, very factual and well informed, was titled - in the print edition:…
-
Surroundings of Notre-Dame: the CNPA wants to keep the gates
La CNPA (Commission nationale de l’architecture et du patrimoine) se réunissait donc ce matin pour aborder la question des abords de Notre-Dame. Le problème de ce type de commissions est qu’elles…
-
The law that imposes gates around Square Jean XXIII
Thanks to social networks, some Internet users can quickly disseminate vital information that can help advance heritage protection issues. For example, a Twitter account that prefers to remain…
-
Open letter from associations about the Notre-Dame surroundings
As part of the major national project to rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris, the City of Paris has planned to redevelop the areas around the cathedral that extend from the square to the eastern end of…
-
Surroundings of Notre-Dame: the fake news of Emmanuel Grégoire (3): the disappeared benches
In our series on the fake news spread by Paris City Hall, we can go back to the title of the first article because this time Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor’s first deputy, is clear and martial on a…
-
In Réunion, a sculpture removed ?
On 14 June 2020, when the destruction of sculptures was in full swing, the French President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron stated: "no statue will be removed". However, this is what the French…
Subscriber content -
Surroundings of Notre-Dame. The fake news of the Paris City Hall (2): the remarkable tree cut down
We have changed the title of our second article on the Paris City Hall fake news somewhat, as we could not find a quote from Emmanuel Grégoire saying that no trees would be cut down for the…
-
Surroundings of Notre-Dame. Emmanuel Grégoire’s fake news (1): the light
Emmanuel Grégoire, and more generally the city hall of Paris, likes nothing better than to call his opponents names. He has no terms harsh enough to describe them, and that of "liar" comes up…
-
50 millions !
One point of the cathedral’s surrounds redevelopment project has not been sufficiently emphasised in recent days. Its implausible cost. Let’s remember that the day after the Notre-Dame fire, Anne…