The first natural risk in France - the flood risk - is insufficiently taken into account by the cultural establishments in their safeguard plans. The stakes are becoming increasingly high with regard to climate change. This situation requires us to act and work collaboratively to reduce the effects and improve the resilience of cultural institutions.
On October 13, 2022, the study day “Acting in the face of floods” was held at the - C2RMF (Center of Research and Restoration for French Museums). Co-piloted by the C2RMF and the Ministry of culture, in partnership with the French Blue Shield and the European programme PROCULTHER-NET, it was labelled by the Ministry of Ecological Transition "Tous résilients face aux risques" (In English “All resilient against Risks”).
Initially conceived as a follow-up to the Safeguarding Plan workshops (more on the workshops in French and in English), the objective was to highlight the specific risk of flooding. Having noted that planning generally focuses on the risk of fire, it seemed necessary to raise the awareness of the various cultural and rescue actors on the issues related to floods.
In connection with climate change, flooding is becoming a central issue in the management of major risks for cultural establishments, which should be integrated into existing or future protection measures. Indeed, flooding is the leading natural risk in France in terms of the extent of the damage it causes, the number of cities affected (approximately 16,000), the size of the flood-prone areas (27,000 km²) and the issues involved (human, economic, environmental and cultural). It is also the leading natural hazard in the world.
Although establishments in the Ile-de-France region have been made aware of this issue through the obligation to draw up a flood protection plan, not enough French establishments seem to be prepared for this threat.
This day therefore represented an opportunity to take stock of the new diagnostic and vulnerability tools, to share knowledge on the search for protection systems for works and buildings, while addressing rarely mentioned subjects such as the role of insurance and the psychological and social impact of a disaster on the staff of a disaster-stricken institution.
Through presentations, round tables and testimonies, the 23 speakers illustrated each of the themes according to their fields of expertise: culture, forecasting/prevention, research, rescue, civil society and administration.
This day was a great success with more than a thousand connections to follow the broadcast of the event. It therefore seemed to meet a need in expectations as well as indicate the need to continue the work already underway (around the creation of tools, projects, working groups, etc.) to strengthen the resilience of the institutions concerned. To date, the C2RMF has been working closely with the Direction régionale et interdépartementale de l’environnement, de l’aménagement et des transports- DRIEAT (Île-de-France Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Transport) and the Paris police prefecture to continue raising awareness among museums, but it would be wise to broaden the scope of the discussion to other establishments in conjunction with the various government departments.
Author: Marie Courselaud, Preventive Collections Care and Conservation Officer at the Center for Research and Restoration of French Museums (C2RMF) and President of French Blue Shield