Paris’ new museum for indigenous art has been mired in controversy for 11 years. “The Musée du Quai Branly – the biggest museum to be built in Paris since the Pompidou centre in 1977 – is Mr Chirac’s attempt to cast himself as the defender of art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. A long-time fan of indigenous artefacts, he also wanted to leave Paris with an architectural imprint to rival François Mitterand’s legacies, such as the glass pyramid at the Louvre.”