As France is rocked by the debate over the reform of the pension system, the director of the Center Pompidou, Laurent Le Bon, has decided to secretly announce an agreement that would have caused a scandal in another context.
The great modern art museum has just signed a partnership agreement… with Saudi Arabia!
Laurent Le Bon is a Saudi Arabia fan. As early as 2019, when the body of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was still politically hot, as director of the Picasso Museum he accompanied the French Minister of Culture on a visit to the rich country of the Sauds.
It was the first time such a high-level European delegation had visited Saudi Arabia since the journalist was killed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Center Pompidou offers Saudi Arabia its expertise in various fields. The price of his services was yet to be determined. There is no question that the luxury casserole is well paid.
Irreplaceable
The money does not compensate for the damage to France’s image through such a partnership.
Saudi Arabia is a religious totalitarian country that aggressively exports its twisted and intolerant view of Islam around the world, including France and its former colonies. Saudi Arabia is at the heart of the problem of Islamism.
But Saudi Arabia pays in US dollars.
The Kingdom of Saudi protects the interests of countries hostile to France, particularly China and Iran.
But if you wish, you can also receive payments in gold.
destruction
Some will argue that art knows no boundaries. Especially abstract art. This is because the Islam that Saudi Arabia promotes destroys figurative works of art, especially when they are depictions of deities.
But the Saudi tariffs are really high and money can be deposited in tax havens.
Georges Pompidou would not have approved of this partnership. No civilized person should approve of that.
