For seven years now, the Mission pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine en péril, headed by Stéphane Bern, and aimed at safeguarding France's endangered heritage, has been selecting historic and emblematic sites for a grand loto du patrimoine, a vast operation of scratch tickets and draws in collaboration with Française des Jeux (FDJ). The proceeds from this operation will be used to highlight France's historic heritage, and to carry out renovation work to protect France's historic soul, whether in public or private buildings.
In 2021, the French Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot admitted that "thanks to the dynamism of Stéphane Bern, with whom we work hand in hand, this initiative has become a not-to-be-missed event for all heritage lovers, who are, I'm delighted to say, growing in number."
Last September, the Fondation du patrimoine selected a total of 100 departmental sites in France. These 100 sites, as diverse as they are varied, were given priority to receive an endowment to help with their renovation.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the Loto du Patrimoine this time lifted the veil on the 18 emblematic sites in the winning regions of mainland and overseas France. "In the year in which France will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Heritage Mission wanted to highlight sports heritage projects such as a 1950s swimming pool, a stud farm or the grandstand of a sports stadium," stated a press release published on March 20.
So, which emblematic site has been selected in the Paris Region this year? For this 2024 edition of the Heritage Lotto, the emblematic site selected by the Heritage Mission is in Seine-Saint-Denis. It's the grandstand at the Parc des Sports de Marville in La Courneuve.
The Parc départemental des Sports de Marville has been a " prime location for sports and leisure activities for over a hundred years ", explains Mission Patrimoine. Developed as a racecourse in the early 1910s, the former park still boasts several " remarkable buildings ", including the stables, the pavilion and the famous grandstand. It's precisely this part of the Parc des Sports de Marville that the Loto du Patrimoine aims to restore. " The 100 m grandstand, intended for public use, had a walkway gallery enclosed by mirrors," explains Mission Patrimoine, which points out that new buildings were added to the site during the 20th century, including a gymnasium, two changing rooms, a swimming pool and a reception building.
Today, the grandstand has been disused since 2016. " The roofs of the grandstand, the pavilions and the gymnasium are no longer watertight, and a large number of joineries need to be replaced to ensure that they remain closed and covered," explains Mission Patrimoine. But the Parc des Sports de Marville is not unoccupied for all that. Since 2020, it has been the training center for Red Star, the local soccer club. The club occupies the first floor of the gymnasium. In the future, the club is even set to install its training center there.
But before this comprehensive refurbishment operation, scheduled to start at the end of 2024 and be completed by the end of 2026, the Parc des Sports de Marville will host rugby 7s training sessions as part of the Paris Olympic Games. The site will also be equipped with a new water sports complex to enable water polo teams to train.
The 18 emblematic sites selected this year will thus be able to benefit from the financial support of this new and 7th edition of the Mission Patrimoine gaming offer, which will be launched in September. "The amount of each site's grant will be announced during the next European Heritage Days", it adds.
These winning sites are in addition to the departmental sites announced last September. In the Île-de-France region, these include the interior decor of the Théâtre Daunou in Paris (75), thechurch of Saint-Rémi in Montévrain (77), the north cellars of the château park in Maisons-Laffitte (78), the kiosks in the park of the Centre hospitalier de Bligny in Briis-sous-Forges (91), the Maison Masséna boudoir in Bagneux (92), theformer Félix Faure swimming pool in Saint-Denis (93), the Chapelle des Hôpitaux in Saint-Maurice (94) and the boathouse in Pontoise (95).
As the Ministry points out, this operation is a real success. Since the first edition in 2018, Mission Patrimoine has helped more than 860 sites with their restoration work, including more than 125 emblematic regional heritage projects and more than 735 departmental sites.
Official website
www.fondation-patrimoine.org
