Name of the public establishment of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Minister of Culture, announces, in agreement with the President of the Republic, that the name of President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing will be added to the name of the public institution of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie.

This decision, taken in conjunction with the president of the establishment and the family of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, is part of the republican tradition of homage to the presidents of the V^e President Giscard d'Estaing’s commitment to the creation of this great museum.

The Minister of Culture welcomes the mobilization of many elected officials and parliamentarians and welcomes, in particular, the unanimous adoption by the National Assembly on March 25, 2021 of the motion for a resolution on the addition of the name of the former President of the Republic, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, to that of the public establishment of the Orsay and Orangerie museums.

A man of culture, passionate about XIX art and literature^e During the century, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing worked with commitment and determination for the creation of the museum and followed its development. This heritage and architectural gesture was bold, combining the preservation of a historic monument and its transformation into a museum.

Under the presidency of Georges Pompidou, the Orsay station, threatened with demolition and replacement by a luxury hotel, was preserved, classified as a historic monument, with the aim of transforming it into a museum. The official decision to start the work and dedicate this museum to the arts of the XIX^th President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1977. 

The 1^er In December 1986, the President of the Republic, François Mitterrand, inaugurated the new museum which opened its doors to the public on 9 December 1986.

In 2010, the Musée de l'Orangerie, which houses the Water lilies, bequeathed by Claude Monet to the State, as well as the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection, was attached to the Musée d'Orsay within the public establishment of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie.

The creation of this museum remains one of the most important successes of French cultural policy in the last fifty years.

The Government will take as soon as possible a decree in the Council of State to make effective the change of name of this great museum institution which will become "the public establishment of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing".