A Change.org petition opposing the planned loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum surpassed about 48,000 signatures by Thursday. The petition called the transfer “a heritage crime in the making”.
Didier Rykner, editorial director of La Tribune de l’Art, launched the petition on July 13th after President Emmanuel Macron announced in London that the 11th-century embroidery would travel across the Channel from September 2026 to June 2027 as part of an exchange. “You cannot use a fragile piece of art for diplomacy. It is unacceptable to risk exposing this unique artwork to damage,” said Rykner.
Rykner said the 70-metre-long linen already showed tears and holes. Specialists who worked on the piece warned that handling and vibration during transport could cause further loss of fabric. Cécile Binet, a museum adviser in the Normandy region’s Cultural Affairs Department, stated that the tapestry was “too fragile to be moved over a great distance” and that “any additional handling” posed “a risk for its conservation.”
Officials defended the loan. Mayor Patrick Gomont of Bayeux wrote in an open letter carried by BFMTV that the journey “makes sense and its legitimacy is undeniable,” calling a London display “a historic moment.” Speaking in London in July, President Macron said it would be “a unique opportunity to bring millions of visitors here.”
Under the agreement, the United Kingdom would send about 100 medieval objects, primarily from the Sutton Hoo treasure, to museums in Caen and Rouen during the same period. The Bayeux Museum, home to the tapestry since 1983, is scheduled to close at the end of 2025 for a two-year renovation, and the extraction of the embroidery is planned to coincide with that shutdown.
The British Museum said its conservation and collections-management team “is experienced at handling and caring for this type of material” and confirmed it was “working with colleagues in France” on display plans.
Rykner argued that any feasibility studies justifying the move had not been released. “The Ministry of Culture says that there have been studies that showed the work was transportable. Show them to us; I would like to see them!” he said. He added that the tapestry had been moved only twice before, by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803 and by Nazi occupiers in 1945. “I cannot think of why you would want to be the third to move it,” he said. The Ministry of Culture, which owns the tapestry and would coordinate any transfer, did not comment.
Opinion in Bayeux remained divided. One resident said “It’s good that the English can benefit from it too,” while another said, “I’m afraid it won’t appreciate the journey too much.” The tapestry, which chronicles William of Normandy’s 1066 conquest of England, has left Normandy only twice in more than nine centuries. Campaigners predicted the debate “is not about to die down”.
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.