Anna Sansom

French museums dismayed as reopening pushed to 7 January

Three-week delay caused by rising cases of coronavirus in the country

Clearing the 'voice' of Notre Dame: Paris cathedral's great organ meticulously removed for refurbishment

Huge operation to hoist the instrument out of the fire-ravaged building has taken four months

Anselm Kiefer makes first new works for Paris's Pantheon in almost a century

President Emmanuel Macron chose the German artist for the commission that commemorates the French writer and First World War soldier Maurice Genevoix

Artist demands Baku art centre pulls his exhibition for using it as a 'propaganda tool' in Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict

Turkish-born Ahmet Ogut says the Yarat Contemporary Art Space refused to take down the exhibition banner with his name appearing next to the Azerbaijani flag

Asia Now fair swoops up would-be Fiac exhibitors

Paris fair makes up for lack of Asia-based exhibitors with some blue chip galleries who were meant to be participating at the larger, cancelled fair

Kapwani Kawanga wins Duchamp Prize with installation referencing African independence

Paris-based artist's work recreates flower arrangements that featured at diplomatic events connected to independence ceremonies in African countries

Francenews

Congolese activist fined €1,000 for trying to seize African funeral pole from Paris museum

Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza and the other activists who removed the object from display at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac say their actions are a protest against colonial looting

France’s National Assembly votes to return colonial-era artefacts to Benin and Senegal

Accelerated bill enabling restitution of 27 objects from French museums passes first vote in parliament

How about an €8m Chanel makeover? Paris fashion museum reopens with help of luxury brand

Palais Galliera opens its doors during a hybrid physical and digital Paris fashion week with a major Chanel exhibition

Controversy erupts over Fiac cancellation

Paris's major contemporary art fair has been scrapped due to Covid-19 fears, but galleries are divided over whether the decision was wise or "lacking courage"

New VR experience recreates Notre Dame in its former glory—and after its devastating fire

The 360 degree film Rebuilding Notre-Dame—on show in Paris—allows visitors to once again "step inside" the cathedral

Saving Notre Dame's 'voice': mammoth restoration begins on cathedral's fire-damaged organ

Beginning today, the piece by piece removal and cleaning of the instrument is the latest stage of the building's reconstruction

Musée Rodin in Paris casts new bronzes to offset losses from Covid-19 crisis

With an estimated shortfall of €4.4m in revenue, the museum is looking to "increase the offer and opportunities for sales to new markets"

Francenews

Roselyne Bachelot is France’s new culture minister

The former health and ecology minister shares a passion for opera with newly appointed Prime Minister Jean Castex

Strong sales as France restarts live auctions

Artcurial, the first auction house to reopen, doubled its sale estimate as lockdown seems to have "sharpened" buyers' appetite

Africanews

Artist Amadou Sanogo plans Bamako arts centre to mentor young talent

Expected to open in 2022, Makoro will house studios for Malian artists under 30, workshops for school children and exhibitions

Florian Schneider, co-founder of pioneering electronic band Kraftwerk, has died, aged 73

The experimental musician and his fellow “klangchemiker” Ralf Hütter were known for their highly visual, conceptual sensibility

Francenews

Amidst fierce criticism, Emmanuel Macron announces plans to help France's culture sector during the pandemic

French president says artists will be invited into schools and asked to create new commissions, but many art professionals say it is not enough

Museums wrangle to extend exhibition loans beyond lockdown

Delicate negotiations with lenders are under way to postpone major European shows of Raphael, Artemisia Gentileschi and Christo

Anna Sansom. with additional reporting by Hannah McGivern

Notre Dame's construction site to reopen next week

A team will enter the Paris cathedral site on Monday to make arrangements for around 50 construction workers to return from early May

Opening of Pinault's grand new gallery in Paris delayed until 2021 as France extends lockdown

Originally scheduled to open in June this year and then postponed until September, new government measures to contain Covid-19 add further delays to the Bourse de Commerce space

Francenews

French organisations create artists' funds and support for summer festivals

The culture ministry and southwest region provides grants for projects, while Paris-based collector Antoine de Galbert appeals to private donors through his foundation

Thieves arrested for stealing stones from Notre Dame in Paris

Drunk perpetrators may have wanted to sell the items on the black market

Venice canals appear cleaner amid coronavirus lockdown

Images of clearer water and returning wildlife to the Italian city are being posted on social media

Art marketanalysis

Business as usual as Arco opens in Madrid against a backdrop of coronavirus anxiety

Spanish art fair celebrates the work of Cuban-American artist Felix González-Torres, who died of Aids in 1996

Decadence of Sun King’s pleasure palace revealed at reopened museum near Versailles

Musée du Domaine Royal de Marly is dedicated to the château where Louis XIV partied with his favoured courtiers

Five years after Charlie Hebdo attack, France plans centre dedicated to satirical cartoons

In honour of the victims and to promote the medium, the French culture ministry will create "a meeting, training and exhibition place"

Double exposure: new Paris venue to unveil two historic photography collections

Exhibition space will show and sell digital reproductions of images from the archives of the Roger-Viollet agency and France-Soir newspaper

Yinka Shonibare plans ambitious artist residency programme in Nigeria

The artist's foundation will run spaces in Lagos and Ijebu coinciding with the 2021 Art X Lagos fair