'La Caverne du Pont-Neuf' damaged by wind, opening postponed

Published on 02/06/2026 - 22:10 GMT+2•Updated 22:13

While the aptly named Pont-Neuf, Paris’s oldest bridge, has stood solidly on its piers for more than four centuries, the monumental installation it was meant to host has proved far more fragile.

Four days before the inauguration of "La Caverne" by artist JR, the project’s partners announced on Tuesday that the event would be postponed after the artwork was damaged by bad weather.

Pictures and videos posted on social media show a torn canvas revealing its inflatable support. The exact extent of the damage has yet to be determined.

"The decision has been taken to postpone the opening of the artwork to a date after 6 June, which will be set in the light of the findings of the condition report", says a joint statement from Atelier JR, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation and the Amicale des Ponts de Paris. The signatories add that a technical assessment is currently under way.

"Sensory experience"

A tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who wrapped the Pont-Neuf in fabric in 1985, JR’s work, which has towered over the Seine for several days, was to be freely accessible 24 hours a day until 28 June.

Like the wrapped Pont-Neuf in 1985, "La Caverne" is funded entirely through private sponsorship, as JR’s team is keen to point out.

This imposing rocky trompe-l’œil, which has provoked mixed reactions, promises to "engage all the senses", with a soundscape created by Thomas Bangalter, formerly of Daft Punk, and an olfactory experience devised by the perfume house Odore Scola in order "to inject narrative and emotional force into an essential component of this installation: the air".

A press conference is scheduled for Thursday morning to set out the next steps for the project.