The Minister of Culture reassures about the transport of the Bayeux tapestry

Catherine Pégard wants to put an end to the controversy. The Minister of Culture therefore assured Wednesday that “nothing has been left to chance” regarding the upcoming transport of the Bayeux tapestry to London, where it is to be exhibited for a year from September.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing, was left to chance, in particular with regard to the movement of this work,†the minister declared at a press conference in Paris, adding that she “found the suspicions particularly unfair. of incompetence that some have wanted to distill.”

A special fund to reassure experts

The announcement in July 2025 by Emmanuel Macron of the loan of this 11th century masterpiece had aroused the concern of experts, who warned of the risks of long-term transport of this embroidery, 70 meters long and weakened by the years.

To deal with this, the tapestry will travel, on an undisclosed date, to the British Museum in a crate specially designed to dampen vibrations. According to a technical study published Wednesday by the Ministry of Culture, at the end of a second dry trip carried out in April, this box makes it possible to absorb “96% of the force of a significant shock” over the entire journey. The conclusions of this study amount to giving a green light to the transport of the tapestry, even if “zero risk does not exist”, however recalled the minister.

A return to France at the end of 2027

“Probably never in the history of the transport of works of art have so many tests, so many protocols, so many risk controls been carried out for a single trip,” further assured Catherine Pégard, comparing the box designed for tapestry to “A cradle in which a newborn would have been placed.” And at his side, Lord Ricketts, special envoy from the United Kingdom for the loan of the tapestry, expressed his country’s “total commitment” to the protection of this “work”.

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On its return to France at the end of 2027, the Bayeux tapestry will be subject to a restoration which had been planned for a long time and which had been postponed.