Announced in 2020 during the President's wishes to the press, the project to create a Maison du Dessin de Presse appears to have come to a halt. The government had announced its intention to create a unique space dedicated to caricature and press cartoons, in connection with freedom of the press. " It will be a house, not a museum. The aim is to make it a living place, for teaching, media education and cartooning, and a refuge for cartoonists threatened in their own countries too ", theÉlysée stated.
On January 11, 2021, Emmanuel Macron declared that the house would be set up in Paris, in a former school on rue du Pont-de-Lodi, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, not far from Notre-Dame de Paris.
The project came about after the January 2015 attacks on Charlie Hebdo: the satirical newspaper had been targeted by terrorists, following the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. A few months after the project was announced, Samuel Paty was murdered. This press cartoon house is a tribute to the victims, but also to the journalists and cartoonists who continue to assert their freedom of expression.
The " European or international house of press cartoons " (the final name has not yet been decided), is expected to host exhibitions andmedia education events. It will also be a place of refuge for foreign cartoonists, Ouest France reports.
The Mairie de Paris has agreed to sell the school free of charge. Work and improvements to transform the building are expected to cost eight million euros. A much smaller sum than the other projects in the running. The government also wants to set aside a budget for securing the building. " It is possible that this location could be considered a target," warned the executive.
Originally, Emmanuel Macron announced an opening date of 2022 or 2023. An official government website assures us that the house will finally be open to the public in 2026. Will the government meet this date? According to Le Monde, the project has been at a standstill since January 2024, with no resumption date in sight.
According to the daily, the project was abruptly halted when Rachida Dati became Minister of Culture last January. A meeting scheduled for the end of January 2024 was cancelled, and never rescheduled. Associations promoting press illustration reportedly contacted the Minister at the beginning of the summer to find out how the project was progressing, but to date have received no reply.
Achange in governmentpriorities, a risk to the safety of artists and staff at the Maison: there are a number of possible reasons for abandoning the project, none of which has yet been confirmed. According to Le Monde, the Ministry of Culture has promised that the Maison du dessin de presse will go ahead. " I can't see the President abandoning this project, which he has personally committed to , especially three months before the ten-year anniversary of the Charlie attacks," says a person close to Emmanuel Macron.
Those involved hope to receive encouraging news soon on the progress of this project.
