Bayeux tapestry “Is not intransportable”told the France-Presse (AFP) agency Philippe Bélaval, project manager with the President of the Republic for the loan of the tapestry at the British Museum. “We did not determine how to transport the tapestry 100 %, the main hypothesis is road transport by truck”explained the former culture advisor to Emmanuel Macron.
A petition put online on the Change.org site and demanding the abandonment of the Loan of Tapestry at the British Museum reached Friday August 22 morning more than 52,000 signatures. Its author asks Mr. Macron “To give up this project” that would be “A real heritage crime”.
In a video posted on YouTube by the Calvados prefecture in February 2025, Cécile Binet, Museum Advisor to the Drac of Normandy, said that the tapestry is “Too fragile to be moved over a great distance” and that “Any additional manipulation” was “A risk for its conservation”.
“Recommendations to be taken in terms of manipulation”
According to Mr. Bélaval, “We have a whole set of studies and opinions that are not placed on the question of whether it is transportable or not, but who seek to determine how to manipulate it”. According to him, there are “An extremely precise study, signed by several people” dating from the beginning of 2025 which details “The recommendations to be taken in terms of manipulation and transport”.
“This study absolutely does not say that this tapestry is intransportable”decided Mr. Bélaval, without revealing the authors of this study or their conclusions. Neither the Ministry of Culture nor the DRAC of Normandy answered AFP questions concerning the various expertise in the tapestry.
Bayeux tapestry is a “Embroidered story” you xie A century of 70 meters long which recounts the conquest of England in the year 1066 by Guillaume, Duke of Normandy, future “Guillaume the Conqueror”. Emmanuel Macron announced on July 8 the loan of the work at the British Museum from September 2026 to June 2027.
A “feasibility” study of the transport of the Bayeux tapestry to London rendered by three restaurateurs in March 2022 remains “Confidential” At the request of the buyer, the DRAC of Normandy. “The Ministry of Culture does an additional study on resistance to tapestry vibrations and the possibility of removing them during transport, so that it is without danger”added Philippe Bélaval.