The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) The DGSE is proud to participate again this year in the European Heritage Days at the Musée de l'Armée. These two days offer us the opportunity to present part of our heritage collections and to interact with the public, always numerous and curious. This year’s theme «Living Heritage» will be declined around several presentations on our stand. Still awaited by visitors to the Musée de l'Armée, historical Enigma machines will be exhibited and their operation explained via a contemporary replica. Grand salon - free access - Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 6pm
The Directorate of Memory, Culture and Archives (DMCA) The DMCA of the Ministry of the Armed Forces participates in the definition and implementation of state policy in the field of memory of contemporary conflicts (wars from 1870 to the present). The DMCA leads the conservation, maintenance and restoration of places of memory of the Ministry of the Armed Forces in metropolitan France and in the world (national necropolises, high places of national memory, military squares in communal cemeteries, burial places abroad). Thanks to a virtual reality headset, visitors will be able to discover these places of memory. The DMCA also sets up a memorial educational action. This is based in particular on the support and enhancement of the mission of defense teaching, the active participation of schools in commemorations, the incentive to discover places of memory and the provision of resources adapted for teachers. Large lounge - free access - Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 6pm
6th Paris Military History Book Fair On the occasion of the 40th edition of the European Heritage Days, the Army invites you to meet civil and military authors who think, write and illustrate the battles of yesterday, today and tomorrow. In an uncertain and complex world, thought is the primordial and necessary condition for the correct understanding of the real and transformations of war. This 6th edition aims to meet the expectations of ever-increasing visitors of all ages by offering a wide range of books: biographies, stories, comics, essays, novels… The authors will be happy to exchange with the public and to sign their works. Cour d'honneur - free access - Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 6pm
In the courtyard, volunteers from the Society of Friends of the Army Museum present the objectives of the society, its history, its activities, its actions in favor of the Museum. In the permanent collections of the Museum, the most significant donations of SAMA are presented to visitors. Cour d'honneur - free access - Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 6pm
The Operator of heritage and real estate projects of Culture (OPPIC) In the continuity of the restoration works of the facades of the courtyard of honor of the Hôtel national des Invalides, begun in 2012 and completed in 2019, work continues on the restoration of the north façade. This restoration is led by the chief architect of historical monuments, Christophe Batard. This operation, which is managed by the OPPIC, as part of the Culture Défense protocol, involves the know-how of many French companies: stone, roofing, ironwork, sculpture, framing... During the weekend, through demonstration workshops, visitors discover the trades of roofer and stonemason with the companies Balas and Dubocq. Cour d'honneur - free access - Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 6pm
World Monuments Fund During the European Heritage Days 2023, World Monuments Fund presents the restoration of the Dôme des Invalides carried out in 1988 thanks to its support. The murals of the dome, dating from the construction of the Hotel in the seventeenth century, had suffered damage during the French Revolution, hazardous repaints of the nineteenth century and the passage of time. The murals were cleaned, consolidated and restored. In 1989, during the bicentenary celebrations of the French Revolution, the Dome was able to regain its original beauty. Dôme des Invalides - free access - Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 6pm