Saudi Arabia has committed to contributing 50 million euros to the renovation of the Center Pompidou in Paris, in exchange for cultural cooperation agreements, AFP learned from the French Ministry of Culture on Tuesday.
The announcement was made on the occasion of the visit to Saudi Arabia by President Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Minister of Culture Rachida Dati. The famous museum of modern art, also called Beaubourg and inaugurated in 1977, is due to close in the summer of 2025 and until 2030. The asbestos removal and renovation work, from top to bottom, 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 post-2030, estimated at “180 million euros” from its own funds, with the help of “patronage”, “the circulation of works” and “the possible association of another country,” announced the president of the museum, Laurent Le Bon in February.
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.
