From the Louvre to Versailles, the absence of foreign tourists due to the pandemic has caused a historic drop in attendance at the most emblematic sites of France, while, once is not custom, those in the provinces have done better. their game. With declines of 70% or more in the number of visitors in July-August, the summer will not have made it possible to make up for the losses of Parisian museums due to the three months of confinement.
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In the summer of 2019, foreigners represented 75% of visitors to the Louvre, 80% to Versailles.
Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Indians, Brazilians, Canadians and others have been barred from coming to France this summer.
Attendance at the largest museum in the world - which recorded 40 million euros in dry losses during confinement - fell 75% in July and 60% in August compared to the two months of 2019, according to figures from the Louvre.
In the 2019 budget, the museum's own resources were 149.5 million euros, including 99.1 million for ticketing.
The operating subsidy paid by the state will not be enough and the Louvre is requesting financial assistance for its "
transformation plan
", its president and director Jean-Luc Martinez said in June.
The only positive glimmer: the French public, particularly in the Ile-de-France region, came, attracted by the diversification of offers (families, young people, etc.).
"Europeans
proximity
" were also present.
"
Paris in tow
"
For the public establishment Musée d'Orsay-Musée de l'Orangerie, the loss of own revenue for 2020 is estimated at 28 million, including 22 from ticketing.
A drop in attendance of more than 70% was noted this summer.
The Center Pompidou is counting on its program for the fall, including the Matisse exhibition.
But its revenue losses are already estimated at 20 million euros in 2020, even though they will be partially absorbed by savings due to postponed projects.
"
Ministerial support will be crucial to hold a program that can smooth losses over time
," said Agnès Bénayer, director of communications.
Attendance at Versailles "
collapses
", with three times fewer visitors than usual, and the public establishment has "
lost 45 million
" euros since confinement, said mid-August on RTL the president of the 'Public institution, Catherine Pégard.
Questioned by AFP, the Louvre as Versailles considered it premature to take stock of the economic crisis and to discuss the planned revival.
For Philippe Bélaval, president of the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN) which manages a hundred sites in France, “
Paris is completely behind, with decreases in attendance which correspond more or less to the share of the foreign public who visited the last year these monuments, often as part of organized tours
, ”he said to AFP.
Family attendance
The province fared better.
While the Arc de triomphe is only a third of its 2019 attendance, the Villa Cavrois, by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, in Lille, or the Thoronet Abbey in Provence, for example, display ticket offices rising.
For the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, it is 50% less tickets compared to 2019, and 48% less for the City of Carcassonne.
In the great museum of Marseille, the Mucem, moderate reductions of 15% for the site and 20% for the exhibitions are observed in July-August.
"
The Mucem will assume its financial losses, the Ministry of Culture having guaranteed the payment of the subsidy as planned, and paid an additional subsidy for + the cultural and learning summer +
", indicates its president, Jean-François Chougnet.
The monuments of the regions, on the Atlantic coast, in the mountain ranges have benefited from family visits by holidaymakers who have stayed in France, notes Philippe Bélaval.
It is in particular the open air sites, archaeological for example, which knew a greater affluence.
For Magalie Vernet, communications officer at the Louvre-Lens, “
the summer will have been very correct
” with a drop in attendance of only 28% compared to 2019. The popular public in the mining area, “
very much in demand for activities and contacts
”responded to an offer of some 800 activities, one of which,“ Baby at the Museum ”, was reserved for children from nine months old.
One way to revitalize the territories.
Diversified offers are now seen as the miracle cure to save museums.
