The "Louvre-Lens" museum opened its doors to the public today. The placement of the Museum of the Louvre in Lens in the Nord-Pas-De-Calais region was decided in November 2004 and constitutes a first for this area. Louvre-Lens grew from the desire of the French government to take a new step towards decentralisation and the Museum of Louvre's wish to renew its tradition of local engagement, and from the conviction of Nord-Pas-de-Calais local collectives that local development should take the form of a strong and ambitious cultural programme.
http://regional-cooperation.eu/local-development-through-louvre-lens-programme http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=5d82ddc85603e45bd143a7e19c42ecb5