Hervé Barbaret, aged 60, will step down as director general of France-Muséums on April 30, returning to the Cour des comptes (Court of Auditors). He had led the organization since 2019. Barbaret, a former student of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and a senior counselor, previously served as general administrator of the Louvre, overseeing the Louvre-Lens project, the Department of Islamic Arts, and Louvre Abu Dhabi. He also directed the Mobilier national and was secretary general of the Ministry of Culture. France-Muséums coordinates French museum expertise internationally, from Louvre Abu Dhabi to a project in New Delhi. His successor has not yet been announced.
This matters because France-Muséums plays a key role in exporting French museum expertise globally, and Barbaret's departure marks a leadership change at a critical time for international cultural diplomacy. His extensive background at the Louvre and within the French cultural administration underscores the significance of this transition, which could affect ongoing and future international museum partnerships.