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After twenty years of good and loyal service, the historic museum of the Citroën brand must leave the site of the former PSA factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois, to the great dismay of the town which wishes to preserve this heritage.
At the start of the school year in September, the historic museum of the emblematic chevron brand will not reopen its doors. On June 30, the Aulnay site will close after twenty-three years of activity on the former PSA site in Aulnay-sous-Bois, marking the end of the town’s automotive history.
The PSA Peugeot Citroën factory – today Stellantis – of the town was one of the most important automobile production sites of the PSA group. It had established itself as the leading private employer in Seine-Saint-Denis with more than 5,000 employees and 7,300,000 vehicles produced in 33 years of existence.
The 370 vehicles, including Citroën Type A, 2CV, and even General de Gaulle’s DS, as well as several kilometers of commercial and advertising archives of the PSA Peugeot-Citroën group, will have to be stored in a place closed to the public for three to four years, the time to develop a new place.
The 1968 presidential car, used by French presidents Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou, at the Citroën-DS Conservatory in 2014. • © ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
The museum is run by the L’Aventure Peugeot-Citroën-DS association, which notably holds the largest collection of Peugeot, Citroën and DS vehicles on three exhibition sites accessible to the public, one of which is located on the site from the Stellantis factory in Poissy.
In 2012, the PSA group left the Aulnay-sous-Bois site. Five years later, he ceded the 180 hectares of land to the Île-de-France Public Land Establishment (EPFIF), also including the Conservatory, of which he also did not wish to retain ownership of the land. land.
The EPFIF then aims to develop “the biggest operation in the coming years” in our region, by carrying out development operations intended to integrate the site into the urban fabric.
On this site, the museum occupies only a small part as part of a precarious occupation agreement. As a result, the Citroën Conservatory was informed by the EPFIF of a “necessary” departure before the start of the school year in September 2024, to the great regret of the municipality, wishing to preserve this heritage on its territory.
It would be inconceivable that the Stellantis group would lose interest in the future of this invaluable collection.
Bruno Beschizza, LR mayor of Aulnay-sous-Bois
in a letter addressed to the CEO of Stellantis, and communicated to France 3 Paris Île-de-France
As for itself, the municipality has repeatedly requested the Stellantis group for participation “which would be decisive” for rehousing in the town, “given the highly heritage nature of this association”, wrote Bruno Beschizza, LR mayor of Aulnay -sous-Bois, in a letter addressed to Carlos Tavares, president and CEO of Stellantis, and communicated to France 3 Paris Île-de-France.
A first letter then “remained unanswered”, the municipality tells us. “It would be inconceivable that the Stellantis group would lose interest in the future of this invaluable collection and thus abandon a whole part of its history,” added the councilor last March.
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Citroën Traction cars at the Citroën Conservatory in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in 2024. • © ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
“The sustainability of this automotive heritage is in danger,” she said, in a note sent to France 3 Paris Île-de-France. However, she is pleased that thanks to her “mediation”, the L’Aventure association, which manages the Citroën Conservatory, has received three proposals for sites in Aulnay-sous-Bois from the EPFIF.
On May 23, the L’Aventure association declared that it was working on the project of a new Citroën museum “already under study” intended to welcome a “larger” public, but requiring a return not before three to four years.
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