A project launched by the Louvre

In keeping with its two-hundred-year-old tradition of reaching out to new publics, the Musée du Louvre, under the leadership of its president Henri Loyrette, has launched a project to create a new branch of the museum outside the Paris region.

The Musée du Louvre-Lens will display artworks in a new and innovative manner to attract a new audience. Its staff will also devote their talents to an ambitious scientific and cultural project and support the museum's local partners in developing the architectural project and plans for running the future museum.

A project with government support

The project is part of a policy of decentralizing Paris's great cultural institutions, launched in 2003 by the then Minister for Culture and Communication, Jean-Jacques Aillagon.

On 29 November 2004, the then Minister for Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, put forward six shortlisted towns and cities to Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the then Prime Minister, who chose Lens to host the new Louvre.

A project supported by the Nord-Pas de Calais region

The president of the Nord-Pas de Calais region Daniel Percheron immediately promised strong support for the project to build a decentralized branch of the Louvre. The region agreed to take on the role of contractor and principal financial backer for the project.

The Region is financing 60% of the total construction costs of the Musée du Louvre-Lens, estimated in May 2005 to be 117 million euros. The regional authorities will also be the principal source of finance for the museum's operating costs.

The Nord-Pas de Calais region is also the contractor for the construction work. As the architectural contractor, it launched the international competition to design the new museum and selected the Sanaa agency as the winner.

The project is a perfect example of co-operation and partnership between all parties. The partnership is based on an agreement detailed in a protocol signed on May 12, 2005 by representatives of the State, the Musée du Louvre, and local authorities from the Nord-Pas de Calais region.

A project with strong local support

Alongside the Nord-Pas de Calais region, several local authorities are providing financial and operational assistance for the project. The Pas-de-Calais département is contributing 10%, while the Lens-Liévin urban area and Lens city council share a further 10% of the cost, and have promised to continue their financial support in the future to cover the museum's operating costs.

Their support goes much further than simply participating in the building costs of the future museum, helping pave the way for the Musée du Louvre-Lens by studying issues of accessibility and the museum's integration into the urban fabric. Lens city council has already launched an ambitious project to improve the neighborhood around the train stations.

A project with European Union support

The project, in the heart of the Euroregion, within easy reach of Britain, the Benelux countries, and Germany, is supported by the European Union. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is contributing 20% of the cost of building the Musée du Louvre-Lens.