TotalEnergies Corporate Foundation is pleased to announce the six new restoration sites supported thanks to its partnership with the Fondation du patrimoine. Since 2006, over 300 work sites have been renovated nationwide. More than 60 French departments have seen at least one project funded.
TotalEnergies Corporate Foundation, together with the Fondation du patrimoine contributes to preserving and promoting - non-cultural and public - heritage buildings through restoration work sites, where provisions are made for young people to work as part of a professional integration program.
By supporting such renovation projects, the partnership encourages young people who have had difficulties remaining on the job market, to get back to work, thereby also contributing to the regions’ economic development.
The partnership contributes to supporting renovation, conservation or salvage projects for heritage buildings, whose restoration is part of the local cultural or social dynamics. Such initiatives also promote regional architectural, cultural or historic heritage.
Le Château des Deux-Tours (Loiret – Centre Val de Loire), has become an artistic and cultural Third Place led by Le Théâtre des Minuits association, and welcomes over 10,000 visitors per year. Work to consolidate the curtain walls and towers has been ongoing since 2016, in tandem with l’Union REMPART, which organizes volunteer work sites. Between 2023 and 2026, the project will allow for 4,560 hours of integration for around 60 people with difficulties accessing the job market, so that they can learn about traditional masonry techniques. Young people who are out-of-school will also be able to attend induction workshops to discover a variety of heritage professions.
Le Maillé Brézé in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique – Pays de Loire), a former destroyer escort which sailed the seas until 1988, is the only vessel of the French Navy classified as an historical monument. Converted into a Naval professions museum, it now welcomes 20,000 visitors every year, including 5,000 young people, schoolgoers and students. Its hull now needs restoring, and the work site, which will be located in Saint Nazaire, will involve a dozen apprentices for the navigation maneuvers and sheet metalwork tasks.
Le Centre Salvandy in Condom (Gers-Occitanie) dates from the 15th century, and has been unoccupied since the 1970s. It is now being renovated to convert it into a lively public center combining different services (social, administrative, cultural, touristic) for the local population. Several structures that govern the management, career prospects and training for young people, will also have their place in the center. Work to restore the West wing will involve young people under 26 in a professional integration situation.
Le Parc des Sources de Vichy (Allier – Auvergne) was opened in 1812. The park has several Art Nouveau covered walkways, kiosks, refreshment stalls and fountains. It is an emblematic area that welcomes 80-100,000 visitors every year. The restoration work site includes over 10,000 hours dedicated to inclusion, 4,200 of which are supported by TotalEnergies Corporate Foundation. Professional training contracts, work/study contracts, long-term contracts and partnerships with professional inclusion companies, will enable unqualified young people, disabled workers, people receiving welfare benefits, etc. The project aims to make the park a place for staging cultural events. It is also very much youth-focused, as the creation of a children’s play area and a memorial garden in relation to the Thermal Museum, adapted to young visitors, is also planned. Sessions will also be organized for schoolgoers to raise their awareness of biodiversity.
La Maison de la Dîme in Rettel (Moselle – Grand Est) dating back to the 15th Century, and the adjoining barn, will be restored and renovated as a games library and a museum that recounts the economic history of the Moselle region. A welcoming and educational place for children from the local communities. The renovation project will involve people who have had difficulties entering the job market, to take part in the work.
Les remparts de Soultz (Haut Rhin – Grand Est), dating from the 13th century. The battlements are being renovated at a rate of 300 linear meters per year, until 2025. As part of this project, a partnership with the Patrimoine et Emploi association offers an annual training course in landscape masonry for around 20 people in professional integration situations. It’s a way of passing on ancestral building techniques.
