avec l'aimable autorisation de BBC History Magazine
A CAMPAIGN is gathering pace to rebuild the Tuileries Palace in Paris. The former home of France's rulers, it was built in 1564 and set on fire by the Commune in 1871.
The walls were pulled down in 1882 by the Third Republic whose arts minister, Jules Ferry, went back on his promise to rebuild it.
Support is being assembled by the Académie of the Second Empire, a society that promotes the achievements of Napoleon III, the Tuileries' last occupant.
They have set up an International Committee to collect a petition and pledges of financial sponsorship to rebuild the palace off the rue de Rivoli in its original ancient style, using modern technology. Support has come from planners, architects, politicians, historians and the French press and public.
The project would cost an estimated 300 million euros, a quarter of the cost of the extensive developments that President Mitterrand made at the neighbouring Louvre Museum 15 years ago.
Académie president Alain Boumier says: "The original architects' plans are safe in the National Archives and the original furniture and paintings are all intact. They were taken away for safekeeping when the Franco-Prussian war broke out in 1870. The building covers 20,000 square metres. Some rooms will be recreated as they were in the 19th century. These include the chapel and theatre, used by Mozart, Haydn, Voltaire and Beaumarchais. The major part will be put at the disposal of the Louvre and could become a museum dedicated to events at the Tuileries and the people who lived there."
Catherine de Medici built the palace in 1564. Among those who used it and extended it were Kings Louis XIV and Louis XVI, who was arrested there by revolutionaries in 1792. Robespierre's Committee of Public Safety met in the king's old rooms and it became home to Napoleon Bonaparte, the restored monarchs and finally Napoleon III. Queen Victoria visited him there in 1855.
The French Government will not finance the project but is encouraging the Académie to gather support.
Boumier says: "The land is owned by the State. When we have sufficient support and the promise of several million euros, we intend to create a Foundation, which will ask the Government for permission to rebuild there."
Prominent supporters of the idea include champagne company boss Jean Taittinger, former National Assembly President Philippe Seguin, President of the Académie des Beaux Arts Roger Taillibert and professor Michel Carmona, Director of the Institute of Town Planning at The Sorbonne.
Those wishing to offer support or sponsorship can contact the Académie of the Second Empire at 10 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris. Or email Tuileriesdemain@aol.com A website, www.Tuileries.org should be up and running in a few weeks.
Tony BOULLEMIER