At our request, and in order to keep our members informed of the progress of the ‘Escale Lapérouse’ project, our association asked for a meeting with the Mayor, Mme Guiraud-Chaumeil. She met with us on 19 May 2025, accompanied by the director of the project, Mme Cortes Marie-Eve.
ALAF was represented by Maely Amalric, Jean-Michel Tichit and our President Jean-Marie Pestel.
We will outline the main points of this meeting here.
1- Genesis of the project :
Initially, the idea was to extend the existing Musée Lapérouse in Botany Bay Square. But the study carried out by Aubry & Guiguet Programmation quickly revealed the limits and constraints of this option: 1 million euros for a limited gain in space, with no possibility of wheelchair access or parking facilities.
Another solution was proposed at Pratgraussals (for non-Albigeois, this is a district of Albi). But this proposal was rejected by our association, which felt that the site was too far from the city centre.
The project remained on the table until the Mayor announced in 2019 that she wanted to pay Lapérouse and his expedition the tribute it deserved by creating a new facility.
When the opportunity to purchase the former General Treasury arose in 2021, it became clear that the site was ideal, both because of its location at the heart of the Cordeliers cultural district (in the city centre next to Albi’s Scène Nationale, the media library, etc.) and because of its available surface area (almost 2,200m2).
2- The spirit of Escale Lapérouse and its partners :
The aim here is to combine the past (the expedition) and the future (what would Lapérouse have done if he had returned today?).
2.1 The importance of the scientific committee :
The scientific committee is an essential partner in the construction of the tour proposed in this space.
2.2 Other partners :
Museums include the Musée de la Marine in Paris, Brest, Nouméa and Randwick in Australia. We should also mention the Salomon Association, to whom we owe the excavations in Vanikoro Bay.
Among the institutions, we mustn’t forget the various ministries, which are natural partners and intervene in their areas of competence: Culture, Sea, Armed Forces, Foreign Affairs, National Education, Higher Education, Defence, etc.
3- The visit itinerary:
This is worked on in conjunction with the scientific committee.
At the beginning, there will be a reminder of the general and local context of the expedition: for example, the content of the mission given by the King, the preparation of the voyage, the voyage itself, up to its tragic destiny…
The second part will be devoted to d’Entrecasteaux’s research and contemporary research.
It is clearly specified that the focus will be on the story and not the collection. The aim will be to relate an object from the museum to the story, and not the other way round. The idea is not to ‘transpose’ the current museum to another location.
Of course, this narrative may evolve in the future.
But the public will find much more than that: reception areas (shop, restaurant, etc.), a conference room, etc.
4- Timing of the project:
As you know, the site has already been chosen (the former Treasury), as has the architecture (on this point, you will find below a link to an article that appeared on our site: on the choice of the project’s main contractor). This took place in two phases in 2023 and 2024.
Work is scheduled to start in 2026, with a planned opening in 2029.
The estimated budget is €15 million.
Opening is scheduled for early 2029. It has been estimated that the number of visitors will be 80,000. For reference, the current visitor figure
is 12,000.
5- Our association’s role:
When the time comes, this project is intended to involve the Albigeois association movement, which is particularly interested in the Lapérouse epic.
Our association would like to thank Mme La Maire for her availability.
Below you will find links to articles already published by ALAF on this subject:
On the overall progress of the project: “Escale Lapérouse, worlds to explore”
On the choice of project manager: Escale Lapérouse : the choice has been made!
You will find below the link to the web space reserved by the Town Hall for this project: availaible only in french : https://albi.fr/grands-projets/projet-escale-laperouse