Art Basel Paris adds barriers and patrols after mass protests
Art Basel Paris will open as planned on Tuesday afternoon with extra barriers and round-the-clock patrols, after mass protests swept across France.
A spokesperson for the fair said final preparations are underway and the event at the Grand Palais in Paris is proceeding. The message follows a weekend of disruption. Organisers wrote to select invitees on Sunday, 18 October, to reassure them about safety.
The email was signed by Karim Crippa, director of Art Basel Paris, with Carly Murphy and Nora Orallo. It set out new measures around the venue. Anti-ram barriers have been placed around the Grand Palais to stop unauthorised vehicles entering the site and nearby pedestrian areas.
Additional security staff have been deployed to patrol the perimeter 24 hours a day, according to the organisers’ message reported by Artnet News. The fair is due to open on Tuesday afternoon with a preview, the invite-only opening before public days, and run through Sunday. Its website lists more than 200 galleries exhibiting and gives 23-25 October as public dates Art Basel.
The precautions follow large demonstrations on Saturday, 17 October. An estimated 500,000 people marched in towns and cities across France to protest conditions in public schools and the rising cost of living. Later rioting and looting led to a reported 2,000 arrests.
The unrest has already affected the art calendar. A Sunday opening for an exhibition by artist Stan Douglas at the Jeu de Paume, the photography and media centre in Paris, was cancelled amid the possibility of further protests.
Student action has been building for weeks. On 9 October, students protested against under-resourced schools outside a blockaded high school in Paris Euronews. Protests, demonstrations and gatherings across France were scheduled for 17 October, according to an alert from the US Embassy in Paris.
For visitors, this means a more visible security presence. The fair’s public programme, the free outdoor artworks around the city, still lists students from the École du Louvre, the art-history school in Paris, to be present at all locations from 21 to 25 October between 2pm and 5:30pm.
