France is banking on luxury and gastronomy for the 2025 Universal Exhibition

France will focus on luxury and gastronomy rather than technological innovations for the Universal Exhibition in Osaka (Japan) in 2025, in a pavilion “hymn to love” inspired by the visual artist Christo. To attract the 28 million visitors expected from April to October 2025, France will present luxury brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton, and groups linked to gastronomy, such as Vins d'Alsace, the cheese maker Bel and the baker Éric Kayser, according to the detailed project Tuesday at the Quai d'Orsay.

“We want to say that the technological response is not enough” in the face of the social and environmental crisis, Jacques Maire, general commissioner of the French pavilion, told AFP. Located near the main entrance to the Exhibition site, the pavilion, draped in white veils in the style of Christo, will be "a hymn to love", "in chic, quality and restraint", praises the one who is also president of the French Exhibition Company (COFREX). “While the world is becoming brutal again, talking about love [...] is something symbolic, a message that we send to the world,” Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate in charge of Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, also defended on Tuesday. and French people abroad.

Six temporary exhibitions will punctuate the event, including a “fictionalized” immersion in virtual reality behind the scenes of the Opéra Garnier. The open facade of the pavilion will be crossed by a ring-shaped staircase in pink copper. The staircase will lead to a large flower garden on the roof. Inside, a huge Aubusson (Creuse) tapestry representing a scene from Princess Mononoke by the Japanese Hayao Miyazaki will welcome visitors.

The space is expected to accommodate around 2.5 million curious visitors over the six months of the exhibition.

But, 15 months from the deadline, its construction still represents a challenge: the budget, initially estimated at 20 million euros, has increased by 10% and the available surface area has been reduced by 25%, a consequence of shortages of labor and raw materials that affect Japan. The postponement of the previous edition in Dubai, from 2020 to 2021, due to Covid-19 also complicated the situation. Several delegations fear not seeing their buildings delivered on time. France promises that work will begin “in a few weeks” and that construction contracts were signed in August.

The carbon footprint of the event is another unknown, while the whole thing will have to be dismantled due to the chosen location: the artificial island of Yumeshima, in the bay of the main metropolis in western Japan. Jacques Maire on Tuesday called on companies in industry, transport, energy and recycling to join the event to “strengthen the image of France among the general public” and support “low-carbon reindustrialization ". The pavilion will be completely recyclable, will have minimal impact and will be accessible virtually, continues the French delegation. A commercial and cultural showcase for more than 160 countries, this meeting will focus on “the society of the future” and the “life of tomorrow”.

Universal exhibitions are held every five years and last a maximum of six months. The latest, in Dubai, recorded 24 million visitors.