Everywhere in France, the world of Culture is stamping its feet.
Many cities like Bordeaux (Gironde) are now pleading for the immediate reopening of their municipal museums.
Some municipalities like Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) even took action, without prefectural authorization, before being ordered to close just as quickly.
What if the salvation of confined museums finally came from the Oise?
The first French department affected by Covid-19 can already be imagined in the laboratory.
After Beauvais, it is thus Compiègne which in turn calls for a “test” reopening of some of its cultural sites.
The Memorial to the internment and deportation in Compiègne says it is ready to reopen overnight.LP / Stéphanie Forestier
The mayor (LR) of the imperial city, Philippe Marini, actively campaigns for the opening of “small museums” in the city.
The former senator split at the end of last week with a letter to the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot.
The subject of his request?
That the city can “by way of experimentation” reopen the museums of Figurine, Antoine-Vivenel, the Cloître Saint-Corneille and the Memorial of the internment and deportation.
"Yes to the reopening of our small museums," implores the city councilor.
"We are not in the crowd at the Musée d'Orsay"
“They each welcome 10,000 visitors a year on average.
This represents less than thirty visitors per day.
It's totally manageable, insists Arielle François, deputy mayor in charge of culture.
We must distinguish between the capital and the province.
We are in a city of less than 50,000 inhabitants, these small museums, which are a true label, support the life of our inhabitants, of our schoolchildren.
These are private collections, in bourgeois houses for the most part.
We are not in the crowd at the Musée d'Orsay!
"
In the wake of elected Compiégnois, the directors of these "small museums" also want to believe.
Like Aurélien Gnat, head of the Internment and Deportation Memorial: “We can reopen overnight in complete safety.
We have a large hall, an extensive visitor trail where we go from point A to point B, without crossing and partly outside ... "
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This is because while waiting for a hypothetical recovery, professionals are beginning to find the time long.
“An empty museum is sad, especially during winter, blows Aurélien Gnat.
Even if we continue to work for the
aftermath of Covid
, our vocation is to receive from the public.
The maintenance of the place linked to daily life suffers, even if we are careful, because we are still working there.
"
The city of Compiègne has thus allocated a budget of 300,000 euros to maintain its cultural sites while awaiting this long-awaited reopening.
Every two years, it also injects one million euros to carry out educational work.
"The minister does not want to patronize"
Will the request of the mayor of Compiègne meet with a favorable response from the minister's services?
In Beauvais, where the mayor Caroline Cayeux, had proposed the creation of an "experimental health course" in the Quadrilateral museum, the file seems very compromised for the time being.
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"The ball is in the ministry's court", however urged the elected, using her quality of president of the cities of France.
After his request launched in mid-February, the ministerial response came at the end of last week, during a meeting in Paris.
"In the meantime, the Covid has flared up in twenty departments, including ours," explains the city councilor.
The test zone is therefore not applicable, especially since the Minister does not want to be patronage.
In his mind, the reopening concerns all cultural places or none.
"