Our history, our values

The Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) is a public institution under the authority of the Ministry of Culture. Created in 1914 under the name Caisse nationale des monuments historiques et préhistoriques, it became the CMN in 2000. Financed by the State, it preserves, manages and opens to visitors more than one hundred monuments, ranging from prehistoric times to the 20th century, nineteen of which are on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Its 1,470 agents welcome over eleven million visitors every year.

Under the French Code du patrimoine, the Centre des monuments nationaux is entrusted with four main missions in respect of the monuments for which it is responsible:

• To conserve, restore and maintain one hundred monuments and the 164,000 cultural assets placed under its responsibility by carrying out operations aimed at preventing their deterioration and ensuring that they are passed on to future generations.
• To open up these one hundred national monuments to visitors and bring them to life: the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, the Châteaux of Angers and Azay-le-Rideau, the Château and ramparts of the City of Carcassonne, the Arc de Triomphe, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Hôtel de la Marine and soon the Cité Internationale de Langue Française in Villers-Cotterêts, to name but a few. The CMN's mission is to make these monuments accessible to as many people as possible, particularly those who are far removed from culture or have disabilities, and to contribute to the policy of artistic and cultural education, in particular by welcoming large numbers of schoolchildren, some 350,000 of them every year.
• Promoting the participation of national monuments in cultural life and the development of tourism, with almost 450 events a year (exhibitions, shows, events, etc.). Numerous links exist with local authorities and networks of cultural institutions.
• To act as a public publisher under the Éditions du patrimoine brand, thereby making a major contribution to the knowledge and promotion of heritage through the publication of visitor guides, fine books, monographs on architects or buildings, children's books, works for the blind and partially sighted, and works for the deaf and hard of hearing. Éditions du patrimoine has a catalogue of seven hundred titles and publishes almost forty works each year.

The CMN's network of monuments is governed by two founding principles.

According to the first: the financial principle of total equalisation of resources, the income generated by the monuments is paid into the budget of the establishment which then distributes the credits to the different monuments. In this way, certain monuments whose economic activity is lower can receive credits according to their needs.

The second principle is based on the pooling of projects, resources and skills, and allows the monuments to work as a network to benefit from the experiences of other monuments and their good practices.

In 2024, several major events marked the Centre des monuments nationaux, celebrating heritage and culture. After two years' work, the ramparts of Carcassonne revealed a new, unprecedented visitor itinerary, offering a breathtaking view of the medieval city. The Cité internationale de la langue française, inaugurated in 2023, has confirmed its success with over 260,000 visitors.

During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Olympic flame passed through several emblematic monuments, providing an exceptional showcase for the nation's heritage!

Contemporary art from Benin was showcased at the Conciergerie de Paris with the exhibition “Révélation ! Contemporary art from Benin”, bringing together some one hundred previously unseen works. On February 21, Resistance leader Missak Manouchian was inducted into the Panthéon alongside his comrades in arms. Last but not least, the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau plunged visitors into the magic of the performing arts with the exhibition “Habiller le merveilleux”, featuring opera, ballet and theater costumes in a fairytale setting.