The Occitanie region will probably lose two of the three departmental museums in Aveyron. The Departmental Council, chaired by Arnaud Viala, voted on July 25 the closure of the Museum of Morals and customs of Espalion and the Museum of traditional arts and trades of Salles-La-Source. This decision fixes their final closure, respectively on October 31 and November 2, 2025. Communities, inhabitants and associations are mobilizing to request its review.
The Gardarem association was recently created to protest against the closure of the establishment of Salles-La-Source and launched a petition collecting more than 3,000 signatures. A little earlier in August, the environmental senator Monique de Marco went there with the mayor Jean-Louis Alibert, calling for “A political start to avoid a serious fault against the collective memory of our campaigns”. She challenged the president of the Departmental Council and the Minister of Culture to make every effort to preserve the museum.
In Espalion, the association of friends of Joseph Vaylet, linked to the institution, also militates for its maintenance. The municipality is looking for solutions and currently discusses with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) Occitanie. In both cases, the question of the future of the collections remains unanswered.
The town halls of Espalion and Salles-La-Source denounce a lack of consultation with the department and wish to maintain the museums open until a solution is found. Local associations also require a moratorium and the organization of consultation in order to set up a recovery plan likely to avoid closure.
The Museum of Morous and Customs of Espalion opened in 1933 in an old remand center built in 1837. Its collection of 6,000 objects spread over 600 m² traces the lifestyles in Aveyron. His latest exhibition is devoted to “pious gutters and images”. The Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts, inaugurated in 1979, occupies 2,300 m² and has 5,000 objects linked to the Aveyron professions, some of which come from the old spinning built in 1830 where it is installed. The largest museum in its category in France, it also includes a planetarium managed by the Andromeda 4A association. Labeled “Musée de France”, it is part of the Soulages route connecting Conques to Rodez. His last exhibition, “at the Rouergate, 1802-1918”, was on Sunday clothing.
