Culture and heritage

CMA CGM forges partnerships with major cultural players, thereby promoting international, national or regional culture and heritage.

The restoration of Apollo’s chariot fountain at Versailles

In December 2022, the Palace of Versailles is starting restoration work on the masterpiece of Versailles gardens that is Apollo’s Fountain, thanks to the patronage of CMA CGM Group.

This fountain is emblematic of Louis XIV’s Versailles, and depicts the sun god driving his four-horse chariot full pelt, symbolising the ascent of the rising sun.

It will re-emerge in all its former glory following an eighteen-month undertaking that will draw on an array of expertise.

World Expo Dubai - The France Pavillon

From October 1, 2021 to April 20, 2022, Dubai hosts the 2020 World Expo. The exhibition gives participants the opportunity to present their economic, technological, industrial and artistic innovations. CMA CGM was one of the Expo’s participants from October 15 to 28, 2021 during the French Space Days.

With a dedicated stand for the general public located on the esplanade of the France Pavilion for the fortnight of the French Space Days, CMA CGM unveiled to visitors its solutions to achieve more sustainable shipping. The Group is fully committed to educating younger generations and also presented these solutions to pupils at the International French Lycée of Dubai.

This partnership gave the Group the opportunity to showcase its shipping and logistics expertise, and promote groundbreaking solutions to accelerate energy transition and digitalization.

Statue of Liberty

In partnership with the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam) and the French Embassy in the United States, CMA CGM transported a near 3-meter tall bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty, based on the original model designed in 1878 by Auguste Bartholdi.

After nine days aboard CMA CGM’s Liberty Bridge, the flagship service between Northern Europe and the U.S. East coast, the statue arrived in New York. The statue was then transported overland by our subsidiary CEVA Logistics to its final destination, at the official residence of the French Ambassador in Washington D.C., where it will be put on public display for 10 years.

We are particularly proud to have mobilized our employees from several Group divisions to accomplish this bespoke transport mission, a testimony of the Franco-American friendship.

Centre des Monuments Nationaux

CMA CGM mobilizes its expertise for exceptional cargo. In April 2021, in partnership with the French Centre des Monuments Nationaux, the French Embassy in Senegal and the Senegalese Embassy in France, CMA CGM transported 35 works of art from the series “Battle of Little BigHorn” by internationally acclaimed Senegalese artist and sculptor, Ousmane Sow.

These giant statues, each weighing between 90 and 200 kg, were loaded in Dakar in three CMA CGM containers and arrived in France one month later at the outstanding site of Mont Dauphin in the Alps.They will now be on show for 10 years.

This partnership gave the Group the opportunity to participate in the cultural cooperation between Senegal and France, thus helping keep alive the memory of Ousmane Sow’s works and promoting Senegalese art worldwide.

Educational authority of Aix-Marseille

As part of the partnership between the Educational Authority of Aix-Marseille and CMA CGM, the Group is committed to welcoming pupils from secondary schools, who are studying shipping as part of their History and Geography syllabus.

Every year, more than 800 pupils visit the Jacques Saadé Tower. These visits give the pupils the opportunity to discover the Group’s amazing history and the importance of shipping and logistics in world trade.

James Bond

CMA CGM has collaborated with EON Production for the 25th James Bond film No Time To Die, which was released in October 2021.

This exceptional project has required all the expertise and know-how of our teams as well as the unprecedented mobilization of our industrial assets.

To support this unique partnership, a dedicated team was set up at the Group's headquarters in Marseille and in the terminals operated by CMA CGM in Kingston.

The teams were fully involved, both at sea and on land, in the success of the filming: two vessels, a dozen CMA CGM crew members and 1,000 containers took part in the filming, which took place on the South and West docks of the Kingston Terminal.

We are particularly proud to have participated in this unique project which was a major premiere for CMA CGM.

Byblos - Louvre Museum

The CMA CGM Group is the exclusive doner for the “Byblos and the Louvre exhibition: Archaeological research in Lebanon (1860-2022)”. This exhibition, in France and Lebanon, puts on display the findings of historical digs in the ancient port of Byblos, Lebanon, as well as more recent discoveries from digs in tombs dating back 4,000 years.

The Louvre and CMA CGM both have strong ties with Lebanon. The Louvre’s collections have been enhanced with pieces from Byblos since 1860, when French archaeological research first discovered the site. For our Group, Lebanon occupies a special place in the heart of its history: in 1978, the Group’s first service was launched by Jacques Saadé between Marseille, Beirut and Latakia. Today, CMA CGM and its Foundation continue to maintain strong links to the country.

CMA CGM was keen to work alongside the Louvre Museum for this unique exhibition and to help showcase the heritage of the port of Byblos. More than that, this exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate the exceptional scientific partnership between the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities, the Louvre Museum and the French Institute of the Near East.

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