As soon as the fire of April 15, 2019 was extinguished, many voices were raised to demand the opening of a museum around Notre-Dame de Paris. On several occasions since then, Emmanuel Macron has said he is in favor of such a project. It has now been launched: the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak announced that she was entrusting, on behalf of the President of the Republic, Charles Personnaz, director of the National Heritage Institute, with a “prefiguration mission” for the new establishment.
Charles Personnaz will have to “undertake the definition of what a museum dedicated to Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral could be, its scientific and cultural project, its economic model”, explains the minister. Above all, he will have to endeavor to consult widely – if only to find a place of reception.
For the moment, everyone’s eyes are on the Hôtel-Dieu, located on the forecourt of the cathedral. The hospital, which almost closed in 2013, is being completely reorganized. Some medical activities have been transferred elsewhere in Paris, a project to sell certain buildings to the private sector has been considered, with shops and start-ups. But the plan has so far come up against the opposition of some of the elected officials of the Paris town hall – the Greens and the Communists opposing what they consider to be a “privatization of the public hospital”. .
From this showdown, the proponents of a new museum of the work have been making their honey for months – without having won the game so far. They know that apart from the spaces supposed to be transformed into a research lab and a restaurant, the hospital has other square meters possibly available – which makes the building the preferred track to host the future museum. But the affair cannot be concluded in a snap of the fingers and the minister has asked Charles Personnaz to carry out a fairly broad consultation. The prefigurator will have to get closer to all the stakeholders, public establishment for the conservation of Notre Dame, Archdiocese, center of National Monuments but also Paris City Hall and the Public Assistance of Paris Hospitals.
Alone at the controls, appreciated by the President of the Republic, recognized by heritage circles as well as by the diocese – Personnaz is one of the great supporters of the cause of the Christians of the East -, the forerunner will have free rein. After meetings and discussions, on the possible and the desirable, he will have to present hypotheses for the establishment of the museum as well as the first elements of architectural and museographic programming. For now, no one really knows what will be shown there, with most artwork set to return to the cathedral. But excavations carried out during the work brought to light fragments of the old 13th century rood screen, and the minister specifies that the work highlighted “the virtuoso practice of multiple crafts”. It is also unclear how this museum will be financed.
A first restitution of Charles Personnaz’s consultations is expected next December, “in order to be able to validate the main orientations”. A final report should be submitted in April 2024 – eight months before the reopening of the cathedral.
