Two months.
This is the extra time you will have to wait before attending the inauguration of the Cité internationale de la langue française in Villers-Cotterêts.
Initially scheduled for June 25, 2023, the opening has now been postponed to
“the end of summer 2023”
, Xavier Bailly, deputy director of the establishment, told the newspaper
L’Union
.
This is the fourth time that a date postponement has been announced.
To discover
Crosswords, arrow words, 7 Letters... Free to play anywhere, anytime with the Le Figaro Games app
In question, a great delay in the restoration work of the royal castle of the XVIth century, built by François Ier, which must accommodate 1600 m2 of permanent and temporary exhibitions, an auditorium of 250 places, residences of artists, as well as a
“research and innovation laboratory on language issues”
.
Big presidential project
In 2018, Emmanuel Macron announced his wish to make Villers-Cotterêts - a highly symbolic place since it was here that the ordinance making French the official language was signed - a "laboratory" of the Francophonie.
This major project was then an opportunity for the Head of State to defend the idea that integration into the nation also involves mastering the French language.
Read alsoWhat are the "factious" denounced by Emmanuel Macron?
Slowed down by the first confinement in 2020, this ambitious project of 185 million euros is once again delayed.
Currently, the interior design cannot be considered because the laying of the parquet is in progress, said Xavier Bailly.