Sawt Falasteen - Pompidou museum's New York branch suspended

The Paris-based museum, known for its colourful and tubular building, was due to open a branch in Jersey City in the suburbs of New York in 2027.

But it has been "suspended until further notice," the Pompidou said, confirming a report in US media.

Local authorities considered the cost -- which involved some $18 million in public redevelopment funds -- too high, according to a letter they published in the New Jersey Monitor.

It comes as a blow for the Pompidou, which is preparing to shut down for expensive renovations.

The French state is funding a 262-million-euro ($281 million), five-year refurbishment from September 2025 for asbestos removal and renovation.

But the centre is also planning a 186-million-euro redevelopment of its art spaces that will rely on other funding sources.

State auditors offered a harsh verdict on the museum's finances in April, saying its economic model was "difficult to sustain", with a renovation project that was "insufficiently guided and whose financing was not assured".

The Pompidou Centre did not respond to questions from AFP about the financial implications of the New York project falling through.

It said "discussions with the mayor of Jersey City will continue in order to decide together on the follow-up to the project."

It was supposed to be the fifth overseas partnership for the Pompidou, which has already lent its name to art centres in Malaga, Shanghai and Brussels, as well as working with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

X.Habash--SF-PST