Art Professionals ask Centre Pompidou not to close for Renovations in an Open Letter

Mr. President of the Republic,
Madam Minister of Culture,

For renovation work, the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture is condemned to be closed for at least five years, from 2025 to 2030. This is a major blow to the cultural life of our country. It is even a serious mistake.

We, art and culture professionals, concerned about France’s standing in the world, wish to express our deep concern and our lack of understanding.

The Centre Pompidou, with its prestigious collection from the National Museum of Modern Art (MNAM), is today an international symbol. Its prolonged closure will deprive Paris of one of its main artistic showcases.

The consequences will be disastrous on cultural and educational levels, but also on the vibrant center of the capital around the Hôtel de Ville – the Marais, Saint-Merri, Les Halles – affecting its residents, tourists, and economic activity.

Certainly, renovation work is necessary to remove asbestos from the building and improve visitor reception. However, this work can and should be carried out in phases, without completely closing the entire site. Solutions exist: relocate everything that is not open to the public outside the main building; move the collections within the floors as the work progresses; use the vast spaces available at the Palais de Tokyo, and keep the Grand Palais Éphémère.

This quarantine of the building will disrupt the structures of the artistic offerings in Paris. We have all applauded the opening of the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the Bourse de Commerce, and soon the Cartier Foundation at the Louvre. These places contribute to our cultural enrichment, but we must not allow the private sector to take over, despite their best intentions, the public service role of the Centre Pompidou. The State must continue to play its full role.

We, the undersigned, call for a return to common sense and respect for France’s cultural ambitions. We demand that the renovation work be planned in a way that guarantees public access and the continuity of the Centre Pompidou. The issue must be revisited.

We turn to you, Mr. President of the Republic, Madam Minister of Culture: it is indeed up to you to take the necessary measures to preserve this symbol of our culture and modernity. Can we imagine the Louvre or the National Library closing their doors for five years without an alternative location? The continuity of our institutions is essential. All those that have faced this situation have managed to restructure without interrupting their on-site activities. Why should the Centre Pompidou be an exception?

For the respect of our cultural heritage, for all those who have made it a familiar place of pleasure and intellectual enrichment, the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture must remain accessible and vibrant in its current location.