Explorations: a matter of state?

A unique exhibition presenting three centuries of French exploration, from yesterday to today, where science, power and the military come together in a major challenge to sovereignty.

Come to explore three centuries of scientific and military adventures, through time and space!

In 1763, France lost the Seven Years' War and, with it, its first colonial empire in America and Asia. Against a backdrop of international rivalries, with the English and Dutch dominating the seas, the French monarchy sought to reaffirm its superiority by supporting vast expeditions around the world.

From the 18th century to the present day, the exhibition Explorations: A Matter of State traces the great explorations that France commissioned, prepared and conducted to the far reaches of known territories. It recounts the impulses that gave rise to them, the ambitions that drove them, and the human, scientific and political challenges they faced, from the initial preparations to their accomplishments.

By opening up to contemporary explorations-from distant lands to the abyss, from space to digital universes-the exhibition highlights the ambitions and territorial strategies that still structure the balance of power between the major powers today.

The exhibition curators:

Lieutenant Colonel Philippe Guyot, Head of the Artillery Department

Lucie Moriceau-Chastagner, Head of the Photography Collection, Fine Arts and Heritage Department

Lucile Paraponaris, Provenance Research Officer, Inventory, Dissemination and History of Collections Department

Antoine Tromski, Collections Officer, Contemporary Department

Assisted by Pamina Weité