This study is set in the French institutional and cultural context where the State and local authorities have strong and multiple roles and missions in the cultural field. Despite the declined Welfare State, France has experienced an important evolution of the legal and fiscal framework concerning patronage and non-profit organizations, giving a new role to citizens. We question the place and role of private sponsors in territorial management of cultural heritage. To do so, we analyze two cases: the project of the François Pinault Foundation to build a museum of contemporary art on Seguin Island, near Paris, and the project of the Louis Vuitton Foundation to launch a museum of contemporary art in The Bois de Boulogne inside Paris. The failure of the first project and the success of the second one will allow us to draw lessons for this kind of public-private initiatives.
