The removal of the allegory of Peace, the bronze sculpture leading the quadriga from the Arc du Carrousel, on Tuesday March 7, 2023. Simon Cherner/Le Figaro
REPORTAGE – The monument, erected in 1808 to the glory of the Grande Armée, is getting a makeover before the 2024 Olympic Games.
Strange merry-go-round around the Carrousel. Since November, the eight grognards of the Grande Armée who guard the triumphal arch of the Louvre have seen a camp besiege their monument. A white palisade. What new enemy threatens this building erected in memory of the Battle of Austerlitz? Did the Cossacks invade Paris? The troop that is agitated Tuesday morning at the foot of the arch is not that of riders emerging from the confines of the Russian Empire, but of fellow ironworkers, workers and the gratin of the management of the Louvre. A crane lifts the allegory of Peace which sits at the top of the monument then places it in the palisaded enclosure. The chariot and the horses of its quadriga will follow in the coming days, in an aerial ballet which marks the start of the restoration of the Arc du Carrousel.
At first glance, the monument does not seem badly damaged by the centuries. Inaugurated in 1808, after two years of work, the Arc de Triomphe escaped the destructive temptation of…
This article is for subscribers only. You have 86% left to discover.
Want to read more?
Unlock all items immediately. Without engagement.
Already subscribed? Login