The Musée du Septennat becomes the City of Presents François Mitterrand

The Musée du Septennat becomes the City of Presents – François Mitterrand, a renovated establishment storing the diplomatic gifts offered to the former head of state and the collections of the Costume Museum of Château-Chinon. Installed in the former Sainte-Claire convent, restored and enlarged, the museum complex occupies almost 2,000 m².

Château-Chinon is one of the places most closely associated with the political memory of François Mitterrand. The former president was mayor of the town from 1959 to 1981 before his accession to the Élysée. The Musée du Septennat was inaugurated there on July 15, 1986 by François Mitterrand himself. The president then decided to deposit in his political base the diplomatic presents received since his election in 1981. The gesture broke with custom: his predecessors generally kept these objects in the collections of the Presidency of the Republic.

Nearly a thousand objects now make up the main collection. They come from state visits and diplomatic meetings carried out during the two mandates of François Mitterrand, between 1981 and 1995. The collection includes sculptures, ritual objects, pieces of crafts, ceremonial weapons and decorative objects from Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Among the pieces are Inuit sculptures offered by Canada, Mediterranean ceramics, Texan boots and a portrait of the president made from butterfly wings.

The museum also preserves documents related to presidential activity. Postcards sent by François Mitterrand to residents of Nièvre during his trips abroad from Beijing, Rio de Janeiro or Ashgabat testify to the link maintained by the head of state with this territory.

Singular in the French museum landscape, this collection was nevertheless based on a museography largely inherited from the 1980s. Attendance remained modest, oscillating between 6,000 and 8,000 visitors per year in the 2010s. In January 2017, a burglary targeting several precious objects also highlighted the market value of certain pieces. A mishap which has not recently spared the Museum of President Jacques Chirac opened in Corrèze in 2000 and which also preserves the objects offered to Jacques Chirac during his presidency.

The transformation project aims to renew the whole by bringing together this collection with that of the Costume Museum of Château-Chinon, created in 1970. This collection brings together around 1,500 pieces, including traditional Morvan costumes and 20th century fashion clothing.

The rehabilitation of the site was entrusted to the architect Patrick Mauger. The work, undertaken from 2014, consisted of restoring the former Sainte-Claire convent, an 18th century building, and adding several contemporary extensions.

A pavilion of approximately 400 m² intended for temporary exhibitions was built, as well as a glass reception hall of approximately 300 m². The exhibition spaces have been redistributed over nearly 2,000 m², while the gardens surrounding the convent have been redeveloped over around three hectares. The total investment reaches around 17 million euros. The department of Nièvre finances the largest share, to the tune of 11 million euros, with the support of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, the Morvan Sommet community of communes and European funds.

The reopening is taking place in stages. On May 10, 2025, the anniversary of the election of François Mitterrand as President of the Republic, a first partial opening allowed access to the gardens and the reception hall. Around 2,500 visitors attended. The exterior spaces are now accessible, while the exhibition rooms are completing their layout.