Judith Pargamin has been appointed director of the Muséum de Toulouse (Musée d'histoire naturelle et d'ethnologie), succeeding paleontologist Francis Duranthon, who had been at the museum since 1982. Pargamin, a conservator who led the Musée d'histoire naturelle de Lille for 16 years, oversaw a major renovation project there, including the 2021 inauguration of the Gosselet wing and a second phase delayed to 2028 with a budget overrun of over 50%. She now moves to Toulouse to develop a new scientific and cultural project (PSC) by 2028, while Laurent Bruchet temporarily manages the Lille museum.
This appointment matters because the Muséum de Toulouse is the second-largest natural history museum in France after Paris, with over 2.5 million specimens and more than 300,000 visitors in 2025. Pargamin's arrival comes at a moment of strong growth—the museum saw a 116% attendance increase during the 2025 European Night of Museums—and signals the metropolitan government's commitment to expanding public engagement with scientific culture. Her experience managing a complex renovation in Lille positions her to lead the Toulouse institution through its next phase of development.