France

Macron's Gulf tour: UAE's Louvre Abu Dhabi contract extended to 2047 and more French-Saudi culture deals

Renewal of Abu Dhabi deal means the Louvre can partner with the network of museums planned for Saudi Arabia's AlUla region

Catholic church's proposed redesign of Notre Dame interior provokes outrage

Plans to revamp the fire-ravaged cathedral with contemporary art and multilingual projections of Bible quotes have been compared to Disneyland

'Taliban-like minority working to undermine the Western world': uproar after French Academy in Rome moves to remove tapestries linked to colonialism

After a media campaign, French art historians and scholars sign a petition accusing the Villa Medici of "cancelling culture"

Beninnews

Benin pushes for 'full restitution' as 26 looted objects destined to return to the country go on show at the Quai Branly in Paris

A farewell exhibition, due to be visited by French President Emmanuel Macron this week, is being hosted at the French museum. But the West African nation is "not satisfied" with the partial restitution

France launches Islamic art shows across 18 cities to combat rising Islamophobia

The Louvre-led government initiative aims to shatter clichés and encourage a deeper understanding

A sneak peek at France's first cultural venue celebrating stained glass

The Cité du Vitrail will open in the medieval town of Troyes in spring 2022, but preview tours are running this weekend for the European Heritage Days

Emma Lavigne named chief executive officer of the Pinault Collection

Former head of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris replaces Jean-Jacques Aillagon

France enforces vaccine passports for over-18s visiting museums and cultural venues

Controversial “health pass” introduced to fight a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections driven by the Delta variant

Elba, Napoleon's Italian exile island, hosts bicentenary exhibition on the controversial French emperor

Uffizi Galleries in Florence among major lenders to show marking 200 years since his death

Museum dedicated to man who deciphered the hieroglyphics opens in France—full of Ancient Egyptian treasures

Musée Champollion in the south east of France—once owned by descendants of Egyptologist Jean-François Champollion’s family—is also exhibiting 82 artefacts on loan from the Louvre

Christian Boltanski, French conceptual artist, has died, aged 76

The artist, who was born just two weeks after Paris was liberated from Nazi control, was known for work that explored memory, loss and personal as well as cultural history

Luma Arlesanalysis

South of France art venues create Covid-united network—and welcome LUMA Arles into the fold

Plein Sud includes 66 venues spanning from the Mediterranean coast to the Alps

France to send creatives on the ultimate American road trip

The country’s Foreign Ministry is launching an innovative cultural residency that will exist beyond any walls

Centre Pompidou in Paris names new president as Brussels branch backtracks over ‘sexist’ appointment

The Kanal-Centre Pompidou in Belgium has responded to outcry over decision to make Bernard Blistène a co-director alongside Kasia Redzisz

Come for the art, stay for the night at collector's south of France foundation

Provençal offshoot of Hubert Bonnet’s Brussels art space doubles as a five-room guest house

Arlesfeature

Destination Arles: must-see art and culture spots while on pilgrimage to the new LUMA creative campus

From Roman architecture to medieval streets that inspired Van Gogh, the historic city in the south of France is becoming a go-to destination

In partnership withLUMA Arles

Amazon's plans to build massive warehouse near Roman aqueduct in south of France cause concern

Locals say the construction will be a "wart" on the way to Pont du Gard, a Unesco world heritage site, and will harm the surrounding environment

Paris's indebted Fan Museum at risk of folding

Income losses during the pandemic have pushed the private museum and fan-making workshop to the brink

Laurence des Cars will be the first woman to lead the Louvre in its history

A seasoned director with an emphasis on the social role of museums, she replaces Jean-Luc Martinez as the Louvre's president-director on 1 September

Chez Victor Hugo: author's former Paris home reopens after revamp

Closed for five months longer than planned, the renovated house-museum can finally unveil expanded spaces, restored treasures and new acquisitions

As French museums reopen, Loire region unveils Modern art collection in a Medieval abbey

The Fontevraud Modern Art Museum, housed in a 12th-century monastery’s former stables, will preserve more than 800 works donated by collectors Martine and Léon Cligman

Researchers suggest that trippy hallucinations influenced prehistoric cave art

Reduced oxygen resulting from the use of torches in narrow enclosed spaces likely triggered hypoxia, resulting in out-of-body experiences, scholars report

'Cranach' painting of Venus at centre of Old Masters fakes scandal must be returned to Prince of Liechtenstein, court rules

Seized as part of a forgery investigation, the work has been fully studied and must no longer be kept as evidence

'It could have been much worse': the current state of play of Notre Dame's restoration, two years after the fire

Philippe Villeneuve, the lead architect of the cathedral, is confident the Parisian landmark will reopen for the Olympic Games in 2024

French galleries sue state over Covid-19 closure

The gallery association CPGA is going to court, claiming its members are “victims of a distortion of competition” as auction houses are allowed to stay open

Protest artist arrested in Paris after trying to enter presidential grounds with fake Molotov cocktail

Alexei Kuzmich, who is known for performances critiquing the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, warned France is also “slipping into fascism” and accused president Emmanuel Macron of punishing dissenters

France's planned slavery memorial on hold over debate about naming 200,000 freed slaves

Shortlisted proposals by artists including Adrian Piper, Julien Creuzet and duo Sammy Baloji and Emeka Ogboh did not adequately adhere to the requirements, campaign group says