‘La tapisserie, c’est moi’: Macron accused of putting politics first in Bayeux tapestry loan

Organiser of petition says French president ignoring expert advice that artefact too fragile to be transported to UK

The Bayeux tapestry is so fragile that transporting it risks irreparable damage, French experts have said, as a petition urging Emmanuel Macron to reverse a “catastrophic” decision to loan the unique embroidery to Britain passed 60,000 signatures.

France’s president declared in July that the nearly 1,000-year-old, 70-metre-long wool-on-linen artwork, which depicts William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066, would cross the Channel next year.