Perpignan mayor defies French lockdown, reopens city museums

On February 8, 2021, Louis Aliot, the mayor of Perpignan, France, unilaterally reopened the city's museums despite the national COVID-19 lockdown. The reopened institutions include the Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud, Casa Pairal, the Musée des monnaies et médailles Joseph Puig, and the Natural History Museum. Aliot declared that culture is essential and that it is time to learn to live with the virus, offering free admission until early March. French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot criticized the move as a purely political initiative that does not defend the cause of culture, reiterating that museums would be among the first to reopen when contagion decreases. The action sparked polarized reactions on Twitter, with support from far-right politician Marion Maréchal and criticism from centrist Christophe Castaner. Aliot is scheduled to appear before the Administrative Court of Montpellier on February 15 to answer for his actions.