A French petition opposing the planned loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum has drawn nearly 45,000 signatures since its launch on 13 July, amid warnings the 11th‑century work is too fragile to move.
The petition’s creator, Didier Rykner, editor of La Tribune de l’Art, called the transfer "a true heritage crime" and urged President Emmanuel Macron to abandon the plan.
Macron announced earlier this year that the tapestry would travel to London between September 2026 and June 2027, in exchange for treasures from the Anglo-Saxon ship buried at Sutton Hoo in southern England.
"Specialists, restorers and curators agree there is a significant risk of tears or loss of material from vibrations during transport," Rykner told French news agency AFP, calling the decision "inadmissible" and "purely political".
France to return iconic Bayeux Tapestry to Britain for first time in 900 years
The 70‑metre embroidered masterpiece, which depicts William of Normandy’s conquest of England in 1066, has long been considered too delicate to be transported long distances.
In February 2025, Cécile Binet from Normandy’s regional cultural authority, DRAC, said: "Any additional handling poses a conservation risk."
These concerns have repeatedly been raised by conservators and restorers when the possibility of international transport of the tapestry arises.
The findings of a feasibility study for such a move, reportedly carried out in 2022, remain confidential. Rykner complained that the Ministry of Culture refuses to release it, saying: "If they say it’s transportable, let them prove it."
The ministry, the DRAC and the restorers declined to comment.
For generations, the tapestry has been housed in the town of Bayeux in northern France and rarely removed from its climate-controlled display. The textile is vulnerable to the slightest environmental changes. Vibrations, temperature fluctuations and physical handling present significant risks.
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(with newswires)
