A seasoned figure in the Ministry of Culture, Emmanuel Etienne (54) takes charge of the Compiègne and Blérancourt sites. General urban planner of the State, trained at the École de Chaillot, he has expertise in works master plans and budgetary arbitrations, deemed essential by the Court of Auditors in the face of projects estimated at 85 million euros. He will take office on April 1, succeeding general heritage curator Rodolphe Rapetti.
Emmanuel Etienne has spent most of his career in architecture and heritage. Architect of Bâtiments de France, then curator of national monuments at the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN) between 2009 and 2011, he then joined the central administration of the General Directorate of Heritage and Architecture (DGPA). He became deputy director of historical monuments and heritage sites. In 2021, he was appointed head of the heritage department, deputy to the general director.
The National Competence Service (SCN) of the museums and estates of the castles of Compiègne and Blérancourt is the most important museographic group falling under this status. It brings together 120 agents and has a budget of 4 million euros in payment credits. Its perimeter covers the national domain of Compiègne, the castle museum and its annex, the National Car and Tourism Museum, as well as the Franco-American Museum and the castle domain of Blérancourt.
The castle of Blérancourt in Aisne.
The site receives around a hundred thousand visitors per year, of which almost 60% are free, and only 5% are foreign visitors. In 2024, the Court of Auditors published a critical report on the 2013-2023 financial years of the SCN, pointing to a dilution of responsibilities and dispersed management. In order to redress the situation, she recommends that the ministry give the director of the SCN annual objectives and limit his mandate to three years, renewable, while providing him with resources and clarifying the status of the field.
If he has indisputable experience in the heritage field, Emmanuel Etienne’s career less focused on museum programming and the public opens an area of uncertainty: will he be able to renew the story and the visibility of an area that is still little visited and poorly identified, while the Château de Compiègne is one of the great French royal residences?
Rodolphe Rapetti, general heritage curator, is leaving the management of the museums and national estates of Compiègne and Blérancourt at the age of 67, which he has occupied since 2018, to assert his retirement rights. Under his management, the Château de Compiègne sees its attendance increase by around 19% between 2018 and 2023.
Court of honor of the Château de Compiègne.
