During his visit to the retrospective devoted to the painter Nicolas de Staël in January, Antoine Boulant found the Palais de Tokyo (16th century), which has housed the Paris Museum of Modern Art since 1961, particularly degraded.
“Leaks, stagnant water on the square, dilapidated walls, tags… it was incongruous,” lists this volunteer from the Paris historique association, committed to safeguarding Parisian heritage.
Without forgetting the traces of wear on the square, a recognized temple of skateboarding.
Antoine Boulant therefore decided to send a request to the regional directorate of cultural affairs (Drac) to have the site protected.
Accessible to any citizen wishing to protect a monument, the online form is examined, sometimes after several months, by the Drac services.
“We probably said to ourselves that the monument was not threatened”
Bordering Avenue du Président-Wilson, the Palais de Tokyo is one of the three permanent buildings resulting from the Universal Exhibition of 1937, for which the Palais d'Iéna and de Chaillot were also built.
The Palais de Tokyo is nevertheless the only one of the three not to benefit from any protection as a Historic Monument.
“We probably said to ourselves that the monument was not threatened,” interprets Julien Lacaze, president of the Sites and Monuments association.
But now the increasing deterioration of the building is changing the situation... In fact, the Palais de Tokyo is protected by the local urban planning plan (PLU) of the City of Paris.
Insufficient, believes Julien Lacaze, according to whom this protection “prevents destruction but does not protect the interior of the walls”.
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In turn, the Palais de Tokyo is also protected thanks to the listed buildings which surround it, such as the Palais Galliera: any modification of a building, if it falls within a perimeter of 500 m around a listed building, must be submitted to the architects of Bâtiments de France.
But again, this may prove insufficient.
Work planned for 2025
If the Art Deco monument was registered, or even classified, as a Historic Monument, then any modification would be made under the authority of the architects of said Historic Monuments.
A protection that Antoine Boulant considers “useful and timely” in the context of work planned on the Palace from 2025. A renovation which will include, among other things, the renovation of the original zinc roofing on the roof of 8,000 m2.
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Such protection will also make it possible to penalize the perpetrators of damage or illegal temporary installations, with a fine of up to 100,000 euros and seven years in prison for the most serious offenses.
Structures installed on the square are in fact subject to authorization when they are installed for more than a month on an area exceeding 20 m2.
Protection would notably involve maintaining aesthetic consistency.
“For example, we could not plant the square while the Palais de Tokyo reflects a deliberately mineral universe, specific to Art Deco,” explains Julien Lacaze.
Partial protection envisaged?
Devoted to modern and contemporary art since its construction, the Palais de Tokyo houses the Paris Museum of Modern Art in its east wing.
Since 2002, the West Wing has housed a contemporary art center, called “Palais de Tokyo”.
With the largest exhibition area of the contemporary scene on an international scale, the Palace, if it is classified, will be strongly constrained, particularly within its walls.
A possibility that Aurélien Véron (elected Changer Paris) highlighted on social networks, while denouncing “the damaged slabs
(of the square)
and the anarchic terraces degrading the facades”.
A masterpiece of Art Deco built in 1937, the Palais de Tokyo does not currently benefit from any protection as a historic monument.
We therefore submitted a classification request to the DRAC of Ile-de-France (13 avenue du Président-Wilson, 16th).
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But, “if the monument is classified as a Historic Monument, it will undoubtedly be partially so as not to prevent these two museums,” explains Julien Lacaze.
For him, the “extraordinary historical, institutional and architectural” richness of the palace justifies this classification.
“The services of the Ministry of Culture are fully aware of the need to better protect, in terms of heritage, the Palais de Tokyo”, indicates for its part the Drac Île-de-France, which plans to study the file “in link with the different owners.
Because on a procedural level, classification can only take place upon favorable opinion from the owner.
Or, here, the City of Paris.
When contacted, the latter did not respond to us.