Several French museums provide a differentiated rate for extra-European tourists from 2026-Liberation

After the Louvre, it is the turn of the Palace of Versailles, one of the monuments of the Center des Monuments Nationaux (CMN)-namely the concierge or the Arc de Triomphe-, the Château de Chambord, but also of the Garnier Opera to consider the establishment of a special price of 30 euros for extra-European visitors. An experiment extended to several museums, reveals the world This Monday, May 26, whose implementation is scheduled for January 1, 2026.

For Cécilie de Saint-Venant, director general delegated to the development of the castle of Chambord, « It’s worth trying ». Questioned by The world, She explains that the castle « Needs 100 million euros for work over ten years, including 25 million euros on the François Ier wing, which cannot be financed with our revenues at this stage ». The monument, which displays a self -financing rate of 105 %, intends to offer in January 2026 an entry ticket at 29 euros for non -European visitors, against 19 euros currently. If Versaillesnon -European visitors represent 42 % of the 8 million annual visitors, 10 % among the 1.1 million admissions at the Château de Chambord.

This differentiated pricing allowed museums to carry out numerous renovations and should extend in 2027 to other tourist sites, against the backdrop of Severe budget cuts at the Ministry of Culture. Minister Rachida Dati had indeed announced, on January 17, wanting to achieve 50 million additional savings in 2025, in addition to 100 million already acted by the Barnier government.

A reduction in aid that falls badly. The two scenes of theGarnier Opera And Bastille could be forced to close temporarily in 2027, due to the dilapidation of the premises. It is the conclusion of the Court of Department reports in October, which had looked at the situation of the establishment between 2015 and 2024. It points to a finger at a finger « Advanced aging state and the fatigue of many technical equipment due to intense exploitation of the premises ».

Thanks to this differentiated pricing, the Louvre hopes to generate an additional 20 million euros per year. Which will be used to carry out emergency work estimated at more than 400 million euros over fifteen years. On January 22, Laurence de Cars director of the museum had published a letter In the Parisianin order toAlert to the degradation of the museumexacerbated by surfrequents.

A few days later, January 28, Emmanuel Macron went to the museumwhere he had taken place a whole rescue plan of the institution. Among other things, he informed the implementation of an additional ticket, in order to be able to access The Mona Lisa. The table will indeed have the right to a new « Dedicated space », « Probably under the square courtyard », said on France Inter the president of the museum on February 2. The Head of State also asked the Minister of Culture to « Prepare for differentiated pricing, therefore higher, for foreign visitors from non-members of the European Union ».

However, for Alexis Fritche, secretary general of the CFDT Culture, “Such a logic, based on geographic origin, is discriminatory and has no place in a public cultural service. It breaks with the principles of universality, equality and openness which found our institutions ”, he condemns to the World. However, there is already a differentiated rate according to the nationality of visitors, especially European students under 26 who do not pay the entry of national museums while young non -Europeans pay the high price.

Valérie Baud, the CFDT representative of the Louvre is worried about the World visiting conditions « Always so degradedAnd regrets an increase in prices coming into force for millions of visitors even though « Next works will reduce open spaces to the public on the Sully wing ».