"We are waiting for the City to react": Chloë Cassens, granddaughter of Séverin Wunderman, speaks about the future of the Cocteau collection in Menton

What future for the Cocteau collection in Menton? The question has been on everyone's lips since the revelations in the newspaper Le Monde .

A few days ago, our colleagues announced that the heirs of Séverin Wunderman, the Belgian-born American philanthropist (1938-2008) who donated 1,800 works by Jean Cocteau to the City of Menton in 2005, wished to cancel the agreement concluded for a period of one hundred years.

They believed that the conditions stipulating that the Séverin Wunderman collection should be exhibited in a dedicated museum, permanently and without interruption, were no longer respected. The Cocteau Museum has been closed since 2018 , after being submerged during Storm Adrian in 2018.

On July 11, 2025, they sent a letter to the town hall requesting the cancellation of the donation and the recovery of one of the poet's most important collections in the world.

In an interview with Nice-Matin , from Paris, Chloë Cassens, granddaughter and representative of the Séverin Wunderman collection, returns to this episode and calls on the town hall to react. Quickly.

The Cocteau Museum has been closed for almost seven years following damage caused by Hurricane Adrian. What prompted the Wunderman Foundation to revoke its donation this summer, the year it celebrated its 20th anniversary?

The coincidence of these two events is unfortunate, as the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the donation could have been a fitting tribute to this donation and to the wishes expressed by Séverin Wunderman. The foundation's decision was made after several years of unproductive discussions and a lack of transparency from the city of Menton regarding its willingness to respect these wishes.

Has the decision already been made or was the letter of July 11 a reminder?

As early as December 2024, we formally alerted the city of Menton about the non-compliance with the donation. In an attempt to meet its obligations, the city organized an exhibition in April 2025. However, this exhibition falls far short of the conditions of the donation that led to the construction of the museum created by Rudy Ricciotti to house the collection.

The city had two weeks to return the works following the summons. But since July 11, the city or its lawyer have not contacted us. We learned the city's position from the press.

What was your relationship with the mayor of Menton, Yves Juhel? Had you already alerted him to your desire to end the donation?

I am sure that a mayor is aware of the letters addressed to him when they concern a collection of more than 1,800 works and a museum that cost 15 million euros.

The latter had stated in our columns last April that the goal was to reopen the Cocteau Museum within three years. Why not wait?

Last April, it was within three years. We learned yesterday from one of your colleagues that the opening is now planned for 2030 at the earliest.

We understand the initial difficulties of the case and the time it may take [the town hall and its insurer, SMACL, are in dispute over the amount of compensation. The dispute should be examined by the end of the year in the administrative court, Editor's note] . But no concrete solution allowing the collection to be presented to the public in conditions respectful of the donation has been proposed. We continue to hope that the town can propose a temporary solution before the building is reopened to the public.

With the Cocteau Museum closed, the city organizes annual exhibitions of the poet's works, notably at the Bastion. Insufficient, in your opinion?

While some works were able to be exhibited at the Bastion, they were alongside other works from the city of Menton or loaned for thematic temporary exhibitions. The donation requires a permanent exhibition of the works as the "Séverin Wunderman collection."

As a granddaughter and representative of the Séverin Wunderman collection, what is your view on the situation? What do you hope to do with Jean Cocteau's works?

I am the granddaughter, but her children still sit on the foundation, as does her executor. We want to respect the wish expressed by Séverin Wunderman: that as many works from this collection as possible be presented to the public in conditions identical or at least similar to those offered by the building by Rudy Ricciotti [the architect who built the Cocteau Museum, which opened to the public in 2011, Editor's note].

Have you already identified museums capable of receiving the donation? Will it remain in the South of France, or are you considering repatriating it to Paris?

Before considering these questions, we are waiting for the city of Menton to react to the situation.