Bayeux Tapestry Loan to the British Museum: The Work Is Not "Untransportable," According to the Elysée's Mission Officer

The Bayeux Tapestry "is not untransportable," Philippe Bélaval, the French President's representative for the loan of the tapestry to the British Museum, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "We have not determined how to transport the tapestry 100%, the main hypothesis is road transport by truck," explained Emmanuel Macron's former cultural advisor.

A petition posted online on the website change.org calling for the loan of the tapestry to the British Museum to be abandoned had reached more than 52,000 signatures as of Friday morning, August 22. Its author is asking Mr. Macron "to abandon this project" which would be "a true heritage crime."

In a video posted on YouTube by the Calvados prefecture in February 2025 , Cécile Binet, museum advisor at the DRAC of Normandy, stated that the tapestry is “too fragile to be moved over a great distance” and that “any further handling” was “a risk for its conservation” .

According to Mr. Bélaval, "we have a whole set of studies and opinions that do not address the question of whether it is transportable or not, but which seek to determine how to handle it ." According to him, there is "an extremely precise study, signed by several people" dating from the beginning of 2025 which details "the recommendations to be taken in terms of handling and transport."

"This study absolutely does not say that this tapestry is untransportable," Mr. Bélaval said, without revealing the authors of this study or their conclusions. Neither the Ministry of Culture nor the DRAC of Normandy responded to AFP's questions regarding the various expert assessments of the tapestry.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a 70-meter-long 11th ^- century "embroidered tale" that tells the story of the conquest of England in 1066 by William, Duke of Normandy, the future "William the Conqueror." On July 8, Emmanuel Macron announced the work's loan to the British Museum from September 2026 to June 2027.

A "feasibility" study of the transport of the Bayeux Tapestry to London, carried out by three restorers in March 2022, remains "confidential" at the request of the buyer, the DRAC of Normandy. "The Ministry of Culture is carrying out a complementary study on the tapestry's resistance to vibrations and the possibility of eliminating them during transport, so that it is safe," added Philippe Bélaval.