[Daphne – May I not be confounded forever?]

A more difficult step was the presentation to the Commission supérieure of historical monuments
which had to give its opinion before work could begin. Émile Biasini had warned Peï, who was
not used to these commissions, that he most likely would be heavily criticised by the architects
and inspectors who made up the commission, but that this would not in any way prevent the
continuation of the project. The government officials, for their part, had received instructions to
‘kindly follow the government line, regardless of personal opinions’. Journalists were also invited
to this meeting.

Firstly Peï presented his project, then the discussion started. Criticism immediately came from all
sides : what right did he have to cast a slur on the grandeur of this place ? During the slide show,
under the cover of darkness, people were talking during Peï’s explanations, laughing at
inopportune moments, making fun of this Chinaman, or shouting out « It isn’t Dallas here ! » etc.
In the end, the translator was struck dumb and then burst into tears. According to Émile Biasini,
whereas Peï had thought that he had come to meet representatives of French culture, the
atmosphere he found was closer to that of a classroom racket.

….

As soon as the project became public, there was a general outcry. When the Mayor of the first
arrondissement, Michel Caldaguès, found out about the model of the pyramid, at first he thought
it was a joke, but soon after, he took charge of the petition against the project. The press flew into
a rage against the scandal and Le Monde published a particularly vicious article. In certain
fashionable Parisian social circles, one risked being thrown out, treated as a good-for-nothing, or
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4
even accused of being a philistine traitor, if one admitted to having anything to do with the
Louvre project.
Michel Macary, Peï’s French partner, was a favourite target of the journalists : that an American
architect did not understand a thing about French culture was normal (according to Macary, who
knew of Peï’s immense culture, such an affirmation was totally out of place), but that, of all
things, a French architect could lend his support to such a project was simply appalling.
According to an saying quoted by Émile Biasini, « when the troughs aren’t very full, the horses
fight »; it seems that Michel Macary suffered a great deal from the jealousy of his fellow
architects.

[Daphne – He was Chinese to the French.]

[Daphne – Errrrm, it’s not me saying the above. I’m quoting something Maurice Mizzi wrote for Malta Today. I would hate to have (1) an opera house and (2) Barry’s hideous and ill-proportioned building.]

[Daphne – Apparently, yes. They had the equivalent of our know-it-alls, but not the equivalent of our rocky parliament, nor was it allowed to become a feeding frenzy of personal grudges. There were certainly plenty of disparaging remarks about having such a prominent piece of architecture designed by a Chink, or whatever the equivalent French word might be.]

Incidentally, contrary to what Mr Mizzi states, the area has changed considerably since WWII. Apart from the hideous city gate and car-park there are the equally hideous flats on the bastions and the large towering box which is the Bank of Valletta building on the corner of Zachary Street.