July 20 – The Culture budget is renewed for 2027
The budgetary project for 2027 provides for the renewal of the amount of the Culture mission, after several years of progress. This stabilization therefore marks a change of pace for the Ministry of Culture. Since the last Hollande five-year budget, in 2017, the Culture mission will nevertheless have increased by 36% in nominal value.
In a context of restriction of public finances, the absence of a new increase means that operators will have to absorb the change in their costs.
July 22 – Jessica Morgan appointed head of Tate
The Tate has appointed Jessica Morgan as its general director from January 1, 2027. Aged 57, former curator of Tate Modern then director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York for more than ten years, she will succeed Maria Balshaw, in post since 2017. Jessica Morgan will take the helm of Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives in a difficult context: attendance still lower than pre-Covid, finances constraints, delayed work and social tensions in several establishments.
July 24, 2026 – Donald Trump increases pressure on the Smithsonian
Donald Trump signed an executive order requesting the installation, in front of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, of signs correcting what his administration describes as “inaccurate” information. The text is based on a 162-page report from the Domestic Policy Council accusing the museum of “anti-Americanism” and political activism. The management of the Smithsonian and that of the museum dispute this reading.
July 24, 2026 – Vix’s torque stolen in broad daylight
The gold torc of Princess de Vix, a masterpiece of Celtic art kept at the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, was stolen in broad daylight in Châtillon-sur-Seine. Two men posing as visitors broke the secure display case and took away the 5th century BC funerary jewel. BC, of approximately 480 grams of gold, in less than a minute. The theft, which came after two previous attempts, triggered a national investigation and reignited questions about the security of France’s small archaeological collections.
July 26 – Two new French sites registered with UNESCO
Two new French sites have joined the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Normandy Landing beaches of 1944 and the royal fortresses of Languedoc. This last serial property includes in particular the city of Carcassonne and the castles of Aguilar, Lastours, Montségur, Peyrepertuse, Puilaurens, Quéribus and Termes. These inscriptions bring the number of French properties registered to 56. They now imply reinforced obligations of conservation, coordinated management and preservation of associated landscapes.
July 27 – A national plan to secure museums
The Ministry of Culture published a national security plan for heritage establishments, three days after the theft of the Vix torque and a series of attacks targeting museums. The system has five axes: priority financing of security work, strengthening of procedures and equipment, overhaul of documentation tools, clarification of governance and alert circuits, increased training of staff. Urgent measures must be taken from 2026, alongside longer-term structural actions
July 27 – The reopening of the Nissim de Camondo Museum postponed to 2030
The work on the Nissim de Camondo Museum, closed since the end of 2024, is turning out to be much more important than expected according to the newspaper Le Monde. Disorders affecting in particular the roof and the envelope of the building forced Les Arts Décoratifs to completely review the site. The reopening, initially planned for 2026, is now announced for 2030. The total cost is now estimated at 23 million euros, which requires a major sponsorship campaign.
July 28, 2026 – The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will finally open in December
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has set its opening to the public for December 11, 2026, twenty years after the initial announcement of the project. Designed by Frank Gehry on the island of Saadiyat, the museum, whose construction contract reached approximately one billion dollars, includes around thirty galleries and some 11,600 m² of interior exhibition spaces. After a project launched in 2011, interrupted then resumed in 2019, this date completes the structuring of the vast cultural district of Abu Dhabi, alongside the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum.
August 2 – A heist attempt foiled at the Grenoble museum
The Grenoble Museum narrowly escaped a burglary on the night of August 1 to 2. Around 4 a.m., unknown persons broke through a bay window in an inconspicuous recess, in the direct vicinity of a wing where valuable works are kept. A security agent, alerted by the noise or the alarm, put them to flight before they entered the rooms. Investigators are favoring the possibility of an organized theft attempt rather than vandalism, in a context of an increase in attacks against French museums.
August 4, 2026 – Two new department directorates at the Louvre
The Louvre has announced two appointments at the head of major heritage departments. Stéphanie Deschamps-Tan takes over as director of the Department of Middle Ages, Renaissance and Modern Sculptures from August 5; Ketty Gottardo will lead Graphic Arts starting October 1st. The first has been a curator at the Louvre since 2013. The second, a specialist in ancient drawing, returns to the museum after stints at the Getty, the V&A, Christie’s and the Courtauld Gallery.
August 6, 2026 – Third attack in less than a year at the Jacques-Chirac Museum
The Museum of President Jacques Chirac in Sarran, in Corrèze, was again burglarized on the night of August 5 to 6. One or more people broke into the entrance around 4 a.m., despite more than 300,000 euros recently invested in security. This is the third attack in less than a year after a robbery then a burglary in October 2025, which resulted in the theft of watches and jewelry worth more than a million euros.
August 7, 2026 – The Offices undertake 50 million euros of work
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence has launched a transformation program worth around €50 million over two years, billed as unprecedented by their director Simone Verde. The work concerns the Uffizi, the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden: new rooms, lighting and signage, air conditioning, accessibility, restoration of facades and reorganization of routes. The museum must remain open during the construction work, carried out in phases. Half of the funding comes from ticket revenues and the other from credits from the Italian Ministry of Culture.
August 14, 2026 – Three stolen Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse found in Italy
Italian police have found three paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse stolen in March from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca, near Parma. The works – a still life by Cézanne, Les Poissons by Renoir and an Odalisque by Matisse – were hidden in an apartment in Parma and are estimated to be worth more than 9 million euros. Nine Moldovan nationals are targeted by the investigation.
August 15, 2026 – Antonello da Messina stolen in Messina
Six paintings by Antonello of Messina were stolen from the Accascina regional museum in Messina during the city’s religious festivities. Two works were then abandoned near the museum, while the others remain sought after. The Sicilian authorities do not exclude the involvement of organized crime or internal aid: the panels are too famous to be easily resold and could serve as guarantee or bargaining chip.
August 20, 2026 – The Colombian earthquake damages forty listed monuments
A report published after the powerful earthquake that hit Colombia lists 40 nationally classified cultural properties damaged in the seven most affected departments. Twenty-two suffered serious damage, thirteen suffered moderate damage and five suffered slight damage. Among the monuments affected is the cathedral-basilica of Manizales, whose side tower collapsed.
August 22, 2026 – The Supreme Court allows the construction of the Ballroom to continue
The Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, temporarily stayed a lower court ruling that blocked the continuation of construction on the new reception room at the White House. Donald Trump can therefore continue the work while awaiting a more complete decision from the Court. Heritage defenders are contesting the project, estimated to cost several hundred million dollars, in the name of the lack of authorization from Congress, the public order process and its impact on the historic ensemble of the White House.
August 23, 2026 – Smithsonian seeks fast track for Latino museum
The Smithsonian convened its board of trustees to consider dedicating an existing building to the National Museum of the American Latino. This solution would make it possible to avoid the parliamentary procedure necessary for authorizing a new site, in a context of strong tensions with the Trump administration over the content of federal museums. Created by Congress in 2020, the Latino Museum is still without its own building.
