"The name of President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing will be added to the name of the public establishment of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie," the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, announced on Monday March 29, "in agreement with the President of the Republic ". 

The press release recalls that Valéry Giscard d'Estaing "worked with determination and commitment for the birth of the museum and followed its development".

This decision "was taken in conjunction with the president of the establishment (Laurence des Cars) and the family of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing", specifies the rue de Valois.

If it is up to the presidency of Georges Pompidou (1969-1974) to have had the Orsay station, threatened with demolition, classified as a historical monument, with the aim of transforming it into a museum, "the official decision to initiate the work and to dedicate this museum to the arts of the XIXth century was part of the decisive action of President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1977 ", adds the press release from the Ministry of Culture.

On December 1, 1986, President François Mitterrand inaugurated the new museum.

The effective name change after a forthcoming decree

Last Thursday, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion for a resolution relating to the addition of the name of the former President of the Republic to that of the public establishment of the Orsay and Orangerie museums.

Roselyne Bachelot praised "a man of culture, passionate about the art and literature of the nineteenth century" and a "heritage and architectural gesture of great daring, combining the preservation of a historic monument and its transformation into a museum".

In 2010, the Musée de l'Orangerie was attached to the Musée d'Orsay within the same public establishment.

The Orangery, located in the Tuileries, notably hosts the large ensemble of Water Lilies, a legacy of Claude Monet.

A forthcoming decree in the Council of State will make effective the change of name of this museum institution which will become "the public establishment of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing".

After the National Museum of Modern Art which was named after the Center Pompidou, the new National Library of France (BNF) dedicated to François Mitterrand and the Musée des arts primres du Quai Branly to which the name of Jacques Chirac has been added, it is a new president of the Fifth Republic who has died who is thus honored for his action in favor of culture and art. 

With AFP

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