No, the Center Pompidou will not be transferred to the Saudi Pro League. This Tuesday, Saudi Arabia committed to contributing 50 million euros to the renovation of the National Center for Art and Culture, in exchange for cultural cooperation agreements, AFP learned from the French Ministry of Culture.
The announcement was made on the occasion of the visit to Saudi Arabia by President Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Minister of Culture Rachida Dati.
An estimated cost of 358 million euros
The famous museum of modern art in Paris, also called Beaubourg and inaugurated in 1977, must close in the summer of 2025 until 2030 for asbestos removal and renovation work, from top to bottom. The bill is estimated at 262 million euros for the State.
But it does not take into account the increase in operating costs during this period. According to estimates from the Court of Auditors, the project, including all costs, “should mobilize an envelope of around 358 million euros, entirely financed from the State budget”.
Added to this is an ambitious museum project from the Center Pompidou for after 2030, estimated at “180 million euros” from its own funds, with the help of “patronage”, “the circulation of works” and “the association possibly from another country,” announced the president of the museum, Laurent Le Bon, in February.
Sharing expertise in exchange
In exchange, France signs nine framework cooperation agreements, to provide its expertise to Saudi Arabia. The kingdom, host of the 2030 Universal Exhibition, wishes to develop its cultural offering and increase its tourist attractiveness.
These agreements concern areas such as preventive archaeology, heritage, museums, cinema, libraries, cultural engineering or the training of Saudi personnel.
France had already signed a cultural cooperation agreement in 2018 which concerned the Al-Ula site, rich in archaeological remains. It oversees, among other things, the expertise that the Center Pompidou brings to a project to create a modern art museum in this region.
The signed agreements thus extend this cooperation with France to the entire Saudi territory.
