Get out of there so I can get started. According to information from Mondethe House of African Worlds, which is desperately seeking a foothold in intra-muros Paris, would have set its sights on the classified site of the Hôtel de la Monnaie, quai de Conti, in the 6e borough. An idea, it seems, from the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, who does not fear shaking the august institution which has minted the currency since the 18th century.e century and, more recently, manufactures medals for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The clock is ticking, it’s true. Since the announcement, in 2021, of the launch of this house, renamed MansA in 2023, Emmanuel Macron’s highly political project has stalled. The future institution, which aims to improve relations between France and Africa, once eyed the glass building of the Cartier Foundation, in the 14e district, which must migrate, in 2025, to the former Louvre des antiquaires redeveloped by Jean Nouvel, rue de Rivoli, and whose current lease, boulevard Raspail, ends at the end of 2026. But the cramped spaces hardly fits with the ambition of a structure which aims to be both a showcase for the talents of Africa and its diaspora and a springboard for the voices of tomorrow.
Tense social climate
With its 34,000 square meters on the banks of the Seine, facing the Louvre, and a few steps from the French Academy, the Hôtel de la Monnaie seems much more attractive. This building with its imposing neoclassical facade has long been closed to the public. In 2007, the factory that mints collector’s coins in the heart of Paris threatens to close. The public establishment, attached to the Ministry of the Economy, is then in deficit. The CEO at the time, Christophe Beaux, went all out by launching a six-year project to reconfigure the spaces and transform the Monnaie into a cultural place in its own right, without ever losing its primary function.
Eleven state rooms overlooking the Seine were inaugurated in 2014 to host cutting-edge contemporary art exhibitions. The following year, star chef Guy Savoy set up his gourmet restaurant upstairs. In 2017, a brand new museum recounting a thousand years of coinage opened its doors.
The programming, refocused in recent years on exhibitions for the general public, more in line with its core business, has found its audience. With 163,000 entries, attendance at the site shows an increase of 11% compared to 2022, according to a press release published at the end of March. Turnover is also increasing, by 9% in 2023 for a total of 162 million euros. The net result of 4.4 million euros was nevertheless weighed down by the minting of 27 million non-compliant coins, which cost the public establishment an additional cost of 800,000 euros.
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