THE poet-Prime Minister of France has fallen foul of the Paris art world with a giant state-run exhibition designed to promote contemporary Gallic art. Fresh from his defeat by protesting students over labour reform, Dominique de Villepin sought to bounce back as the patron of a show at the Grand Palais that is restricted to French artists.

M de Villepin wants to restore modern French art to a pre-eminent position by rivalling the triennial British art show at the Tate Britain in London and the biennial show of American art at the Whitney Museum in New York.

However, critics complain of government interference in the arts, denouncing what they see as a rushed and politically driven attempt to declare an “official” style of art, and some prominent artists are boycotting the event, which opens on May 9. Supporters, however, recall Tony Blair’s promotion of Cool Britannia in the 1990s and say that such an event is long overdue.

M de Villepin commissioned the exhibition last October with the aim of regaining French glory in a contemporary art world that is overwhelmingly dominated by New York and London. Only the works of French artists and longtime residents are to be shown at La Force de l’Art, which is costing € 2 million (£1.4 million) of taxpayers’ money.

The organisers hope that the six-week display of the creations of about 200 artists, in the spectacularly refurbished site of the 1900 Universal Exhibition, will restore Paris to the position that it held decades ago. The show is scheduled to become a triennial event.

The trouble began with the short notice that sent 15 state-appointed commissioners — including only one artist — rushing to assemble works from museums and private collections. Because of the scramble, a catalogue will not be ready for the opening.

The critical world then began sniping at the concept of a state show that echoes Expo Pompidou, staged in 1972 by the late President, which stirred such a furore that riot police guarded its opening.

“This is a bit 1960s France,” Eric Meyer, the editor of Arts Magazine, said of “Expo Villepin”. “It is not up to the state to organise this. Why can’t private patronage take charge?” M de Villepin’s role had “given the exhibition a political, even nationalist image”, Le Monde said.

The organisers were thrown on the defensive when Gérard Fromanger, an established painter, withdrew his work this month, saying that he refused to “sing for de Villepin”.

Bernard Blistène, the Ministry of Culture official who is managing the show, ridiculed the criticism. “A Prime Minister who takes an interest in art is rather encouraging,” he said. “Mixing it up with the labour reform (decreed by M de Villepin) is ridiculous. If contemporary art won elections, we would know about it.”