According to the Art Market Report by Art Basel and UBS for 2023, France is the fourth largest market in the world after the United States, the United Kingdom and China, with a sales volume of nearly USD 5 billion in 2022, a historic record corresponding to a 7% market share. This dynamic is attracting more and more international players who are seduced by the artistic aura and multicultural offer of Pariser Platz.
Most players in the French art market agree: in 2022, Paris has become the most attractive of the European capitals, despite an unstable geopolitical context due to the post-Covid difficulties, inflation and the uncertainties of the war in Ukraine. And although London remains the European stronghold for auctions, it has suffered from Brexit, which has prompted several gallery owners to turn to the French capital, such as David Zwirner, who will open a space in the Marais district from 2019. "Brexit is changing the situation," he told the Financial Times at the time. "My gallery in London will be a British gallery, not a European gallery. I am European and want to stay that way." Successful visibility: several of his artists were in the program of Parisian institutions, such as∙le∙s Franz West and Alice Neel at the Centre Pompidou, Gordon Matta-Clark at the Jeu de Paume, Anni and Josef Albers at the Musée d'Art moderne (MAM) in Paris or Joan Mitchell at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
In addition, the Art Basel/UBS report points to "a considerable increase in collectors in the 500,000 to 1 million dollar price range". France now appears to be perfectly positioned to appeal to this target group.
The French capital is characterized by a cultural offering that has been second to none in recent years. The Louis Vuitton Foundation has set up shop, the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection has moved in and the interest of major museums in contemporary art has increased. In addition, the Emerige Foundation of collector Laurent Dumas, which focuses on the French scene, will open an art center on Île Seguin in 2026. Paris is not only a first-class marketplace, but has also developed into a platform for exchange, conversation and experimentation with a strong international appeal.