Exceptional opening of the Musée d'Orsay on December 9, 2020, to pay tribute to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing who died on December 2, and to allow citizens to come and sign a guestbook.

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Stéphane DE SAKUTIN / POOL

Yesterday, almost unanimously by the National Assembly, the deputies proposed to rename the Musée d'Orsay as well as the Orangery by adding that of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing who was at the origin of the transformation project of the old station in a 19th century museum during its seven-year term (from 1974 to 1981).

MEPs observed that unlike Pompidou for the Center Beaubourg, Mitterrand for the Grand Bibliothèque or even Chirac for the Quai Branly, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing had not yet been associated with one of his cultural legacies. to France.

Died in December 2020, the former President of the Republic leaves a mixed and complex memory.

In the field of culture, he is the man of the Program Law (on museums and cultural charters) passed in 1978 and benefiting many museums.

He is the man of restoration and conservation of heritage.

However, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was also the President of the Fifth Republic who left the least space and budget for culture in his policy.

He nevertheless left to French citizens some great places of culture - as is the case of the Musée d'Orsay - which could themselves one day bear his name.

The Renaissance Museum of Ecouen 

The project to turn it into a Renaissance museum was already on the program under André Malraux.

However, it is thanks to the funding found under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing that the museum was able to open its doors after major restoration work.

The museum was inaugurated in 1977 by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, emblematic of this policy of conservation and opening up of heritage to a large public.

The Picasso Museum

The famous Parisian museum also benefited from this funding policy dedicated to museums and heritage conservation under the seven-year term of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

Although the latter's involvement in the existence of this museum has remained discreet, it was nevertheless in 1974 that the current Picasso museum project saw the light of day.

As a result, in 1976 the government organized an architectural competition to restore the Hôtel Salé which now houses the museum.

The latter was inaugurated in 1985.

The Parc de la Villette

We find in this project many characteristics of the vision of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: conservation and enhancement of heritage mixed with a real concern for innovation.

Closed definitively in 1974, the slaughterhouses of La Villette are the subject of a redevelopment project, between conservation and modernization of heritage.

Work began in 1979 on the 55 hectares of the current Parc de la Villette - including 33 green spaces, currently the largest in Paris.

This singular, daring urban planning project has become an essential part of the identity of contemporary Paris, giving pride of place to cultural places among which Valéry Giscard d'Estaing has left his mark.

The City of Science and Industry

Incorporating the La Villette restoration project, the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie gives a second life to the slaughterhouses, transformed into a museum by Adrien Fainsilber.

This museum is one of the most emblematic projects initiated by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

The reformer had technical, scientific and industry issues at heart in his policy, which he translated into the creation of a museum geared towards the future, intended for a large audience.

The Arab World Institute 

If the place was inaugurated by François Mitterrand (like several of the projects launched by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing), the project comes from Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

Concerned about relations between France and the Arab world, the former President of the Republic worked during his seven-year term for diplomatic rapprochement.

This concern for dialogue and to perpetuate a link was manifested in particular by the project to create the Institute of the Arab World, the statutes of which were approved in June 1980 by France and 18 Arab States.

It is not impossible either that one day we give the name of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to a place or a European project he was a fervent defender, or to a high-speed train or space shuttle project. ...

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