General de Gaulle’s office, Pompidou’s armchair, presidential pétanque balls… We visited the shop-museum dedicated to the Elysée

Tourists from all over the world are arriving in Paris for the start of the Olympic Games. The Élysée is taking the opportunity to unveil the “Maison de l’Élysée”, its new showcase, which will open next week and will be free to enter. It is both a museum and a shop, where you can find rare heritage objects, such as “made in France” goodies. The shop-museum was inaugurated on Wednesday, July 24 by Emmanuel Macron. Franceinfo was able to visit it in preview.

In front of the entrance, just opposite the Élysée Palace, a truck stops. Inside, a golden office, and not just any office: that of General de Gaulle. The construction site is not finished and the teams are busy before the opening next Tuesday.It’s the perfect place to get that monumental ‘wow’ effect.enthuses Yannick Desbois, deputy director of Emmanuel Macron’s office. We have a six-meter high ceiling, we have a chandelier from the national furniture that was in the vestibule of honor of the Élysée before. We have a wrought iron balustrade by a craftsman from Belfort, a stone staircase… We feel like we are at the Élysée: there are mirrors, there are the logos of the French Republic. We are really at the presidency of the Republic!“, he emphasizes.

More than half of the 600 square meters of the house are dedicated to the exhibition and the reconstruction of the presidents’ office. To access it, you have to go through the shop, where they sell dishes, soaps and… petanque balls.They are marked “Presidency of the Republic” and you have the small batch of blue-white-red piglets”describes Yannick Desbois. Price displayed: 70 euros. A sum intended for the maintenance of heritage.

Emmanuel Macron’s deputy chief of staff acknowledges that prices can put off some visitors. “It can sometimes be a bit disappointing. But, because it is 100% made in France, with very complicated specifications, you don’t necessarily have mugs made in China for three euros.”

Upstairs, a café offers éclairs and lemon tart from the Élysée’s pastry chef. “We have a pear charlotte called Corrézienne to evoke two former presidents of the Republic”says Yannick Desbois, smiling.

Once you get to the exhibition area, it’s all there. The objects on display, with the exception of Georges Pompidou’s chair, are mainly from the last two five-year terms, including gifts from other heads of state.

“There is an original drawing by the author of ‘One Piece’, the world-famous manga, which was given to the president in 2021 for the Olympic Games in Japan. It must be worth millions of euros.”

Yannick Desbois, deputy director of Emmanuel Macron’s office

to franceinfo

Emmanuel Macron and his wife are the masterminds behind this museum. But the Élysée Palace keeps repeating: it is not about restoring the presidency’s reputation. “I think people make a distinction between the presidency of the Republic and the president, his personality. We have not seen any variation in the name of the registration for the European Heritage Days, whatever the popularity rating of the president”defends Yannick Desbois.

The visit ends with the voice of a regular at the palace: Stéphane Bern recounts 300 years of history in a 3D video. This “Maison de l’Élysée” is intended to last after 2027. The project is estimated at three and a half million euros, far from the 200 000 euros that derivative products have brought in each year so far.