This inauguration was welcomed by Mr. Martinez, the product of “exemplary partnership between the Louvre and the Bardo, which started in 2009,” when he was director of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities from the Louvre Museum. In Carthage room enthroned 11 beautifully restored sculptures “knowing that no less than 35 sculptures were restored and 23 portraits will soon be exposed he announced.”

The director of the Museum of Bardo indicated that, after almost 3 years of field school set up by the Louvre, with the support of the French Institute of Tunisia, 4 of these Tunisians are now part of the museum staff and are responsible for his sculpture studio. And on this, Mr. Martinez noted that “thanks to this over, we can be sure that the preservation and promotion of heritage are assured.”

For his part, Mr. Mabrouk said “The Bardo celebrate in three days, 125 years and is its history and the most beautiful mosaics it contains lessons of cultural diversity and tolerance, openness, universality and to demonstrate the agreement that will link the National Institute of Tunisian and French Heritage.

Sylvia Pinel noted that the restoration of these sculptures is the first result of an ambitious partnership initiated in November 2009 between the two countries represented by two prestigious museums The Louvre and the Bardo. She praised the work of Mr. Martinez, who at the beginning of the project, as this partnership focused on training of Tunisian Restaurant and transfer skills to their advantage.

She highlighted the logic of Franco-Tunisian open and effective cooperation in terms of cultural cooperation between the two countries and emphasized the French cultural heritage “one of the main tourist attractions of France.”

The sector’s weight is estimated at nearly 100,000 jobs and 15 billion euros from tourism benefits. Tourism is the first point of access to culture, since it generates more than 60 pc of museum attendance she said.

She highlighted the wealth and cultural and historical past of Tunisia and invited the Tunisian partners, like the Heritage Protection Development Agency to continue to open to the outside to Tunisians who “may not be fully aware of all the history they are heirs, but also towards tourists from abroad through tourism programs dedicated to this exceptional legacy for future generations that made the history of the Mediterranean to the Tunisian people. ”

This inauguration is part of the two-day state visit that French President Francois Hollande performs in Tunis since Thursday with a delegation of a dozen ministers.

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