Musée de France and associated labels

Legislative and regulatory framework
The «museums of France» are museums approved by the State and benefiting primarily from its assistance, according to the terms of the law of 4 January 2002.'appellation «Musée de France» may be granted to museums belonging to the State, to another legal person under public law or to a person under private law not for profit.
The provisions of the Act are codified in the Book IV of the Heritage Code

To whom do I apply for the name?
A legal person who owns collections and applies for the name "musée de France" in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 442-1 of the French Heritage Code sends a request to the museum advisor of the DRAC on which he depends.

What must be in the application package?
The application shall be accompanied in particular by:
1) The inventory of the assets allocated to the museum’s collections, specifying the origin of ownership of the assets;
2. The decision of the competent deliberative body requesting the designation "musée de France";
3) A guidance document specifying the scientific and cultural objectives of the museum and the conditions and means envisaged for their implementation, in particular with regard to collections, personnel, museography, education, dissemination and research.

Where the application originates from a private legal person, the file shall also include:
1) A declaration by the legal representative of the legal person certifying that the legal personis not the subject of a receivership or liquidation proceeding pursuant to Book VI of the French Commercial Code and that none of the property comprising the collections is used to guarantee a debt;
2) A certificate issued by the competent authority mentioning the absence of registration of security interests in these goods, where these may be the subject of such registration;
3. The justification for the publication in a newspaper authorised to receive legal advertisements instead of the registered office of a notice mentioning the request for the designation "musée de France" and the consistency of the inventory produced in support of this request;
4. A copy of the statutes providing for the irrevocable appropriation to the presentation to the public, within the framework of a "museum of France", of the property acquired by gift or bequest or with the assistance of the State or a local authority.

How and by whom is the decision made?
By the Minister of Culture after an opinion of a national commission, then of the High Council of Museums of France (meeting twice a year).

Who informs about the decision or refusal to award the designation?
The name "musée de France" shall be attributed and, where appropriate, withdrawn by order of the Minister responsible for Culture, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic. If necessary, this order is made jointly with the minister responsible for the museum in question or who is responsible for it.

The labels associated with the appellation "Museums of France"
- The label "Exhibition of national interest" (created in 1999) for territorial museums with the name "Museums of France"
- The label "The museum comes out of its walls" (2017) aimed at enhancing operations carried out in places other than the museum itself.

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To learn more:
List and map of museums in France

Fact sheets
Renovating a museum in France

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DRAC Contacts:
Assistant: Meng CHIV, Tel. 02 38 78 85 04 - musees.centre[@]culture.gouv.fr
Councillor: Diana Gay
To contact the person by email, please remove the brackets ("[" and "]") from the address as indicated above.