Napoleon’s tomb ‘not for sale’
Plans for a Saudi Arabian “Olympic village” by Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb in central Paris have prompted an outcry from both conservative and left-wing camps.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government is on the defensive after confirming that it was looking favourably at Saudi Arabia’s request to install a national pavilion for the Olympic Games in the heart of Les Invalides, the historic complex on the Left Bank revered as the symbol of military France.
As well as Napoleon’s tomb, Les Invalides houses the museums of the army and the Legion of Honour and the hospital for the war wounded. Its courtyard is the site for state memorial ceremonies and funerals.
Olympic archery events will be staged on the long Esplanade park of Les Invalides and several events will be held by the Eiffel Tower.
The possible decision to grant space in the grounds for what the media are calling a "Saudi Olympic village" reflects Macron’s drive to cultivate states in the Gulf region.
It is also part of a Saudi push to become a global sporting power.
The plan for the pavilion, due to be erected in May and to stand for four months, had not been made public until Nathalie Serre, a conservative MP, demanded information in a parliamentary question.
Confirming the request, Sebastien Lecornu, the defence minister, said that the French Government was giving it a “sympathetic view”, adding that “Saudi Arabia is committed to respecting the security and financial measures of
Les Invalides” and that Riyadh was an “important defence partner”.
Many countries were setting up national pavilions in Paris for the Olympic Games being held there in July and August, he said.
Serre noted that fashion shows had been staged in the site’s grounds, but she argued that a foreign state would be out of place in “an architectural treasure, full of symbolism and our country’s history” and that it would be egregious in the case of Saudi Arabia.
“It poses a specific problem because of its human rights record, but even if it were a Danish or Canadian village, it would be the same,” she said.
“When you have a Chanel fashion show, it doesn’t last four months and we’re not appropriating anything other than the beauty of the place. There are some things that are not for sale and in my view Les Invalides is one of them.”
The project was criticised as unacceptable pandering by figures in the two biggest opposition parties – the rightwing populist National Rally led by Marine Le Pen and France Unbowed, the radical left party of Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Rachida Dati, the new culture minister, is mayor of the 7th arrondissement, the district that includes Les Invalides.
She said the complex was controlled by the defence ministry, not the council, and that she was “opposed to all commercial overexploitation of events”.
The defence ministry indicated that the deal was dependent “on strict conditions that the Saudis have not yet accepted, which must ensure the security and solemnity of the site and the peace of the resident pensioners”. – The Times