The Paris laboratory of world-renowned scientific pioneer, Marie Curie, has avoided being fully destroyed, following the last-minute intervention of France's culture minister, as reported by CNN.
Rima Abdul Malak Halts Destruction of Pavilion des Sources
The lab is part of the Pavilion des Sources located at the Curie Institute within the city's Latin Quarter and was originally scheduled for demolition last Monday, Jan. 8.
Malak announced the "suspension" of said demolition on Jan. 5, the week prior, writing a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"This morning I spoke with Thierry Philip, president of the Institut Curie," said the culture Minister. "We agreed that he suspend the demolition of the Pavillon des Sources to give himself time to examine, with the stakeholders and my colleague [Sylvie Retailleau] any possible alternative."
The "alternative" that the minister pointed out pertains to other ways the development of a bio-chem center focusing on cancer research could become possible, as it was initially planned to be built where the historical structure currently stands.
In 1914, the pavilion was designed by the French architect, Henri-Paul Nénot, which was intended for the use of Curie after her groundbreaking findings relating to radioactivity.
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The Controversial Decision to Demolish the Structure
Last year, in March, the local government of Paris gave the green light for the structure's destruction, along with a tree planted by Curie herself, in order to expand the research grounds of the Curie Institute.
This decision led to outrage from several cultural heritage associations that believe such an action is an insult to the legacy of the two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist.
Additionally, a petition was launched calling for the protection of the historical structure and has since then collected over 1,000 signatures.
Between this surge of support and the minister's decision to suspend the demolition, experts on cultural heritage issued a warning saying that these "protections" will not be prolonged indefinitely unless the structure is formally declared a "heritage," complete with its own listing.
Despite the pushback on the initiative to take down the structure, several scientists within the institute support the decision.
This includes Curie's grandson, Marc Joliot, who has voiced support for the ensuing demolition, telling Radio France Info, "The pavilion has to be demolished," and that he "would have liked to keep this building" but cancer research is "extraordinarily important."
They have even protested against the delays put forth against the construction of the new innovatory research center, which would become the first one built in Europe and will be used by about a hundred researchers.
