Louvre Abu Dhabi: Beauty in the service of civilisation

Audience members watch an orchestral performance during the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Hamad Al Mansoori for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, tours the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Left to right, Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Education Council and Abu Dhabi Executive Council Member, Ahmed Juma Al Zaabi, UAE Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mohammed Abdulla Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Infrastructural Development, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, and Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Health Department and Abu Dhabi Executive Council Member, tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi, during the opening ceremony. Hamad Al Kaabi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, tours the Louvre Abu Dhabi, during the opening ceremony. Hamad Al Kaabi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, left, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, right, enter Louvre Abu Dhabi with French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron. Omar Al Askar for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, tours Louvre Abu Dhabi with Sheikha Fatima bint Abdullah bin Zayed. Omar Al Askar for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed, Chairman of the Board of Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, second right, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, UAE Minister of State for Tolerance, Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Ashraf Ghani, president of Afghanistan, and other dignitaries, tour Louvre Abu Dhabi. Omar Al Askar for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

King Mohammed VI of Morocco, right, and Saif Ghobash, Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. Omar Al Askar for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, second left, and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, third left at Louvre Abu Dhabi. Seen with Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Omar Al Askar for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, right. Omar Al Askar for Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed with Bahrain’s King Hamad. Omar Al Askar for Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

King Mohammed VI of Morocco, right, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, centre, and Emmanuel Macron, president of France, third right, attend the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Hamad Al Kaabi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Members of the UAE Armed Forces participate in the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Emmanuel Macron, president of France delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Hamad Al Mansoori for The Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

French president Emmanuel Macron declared on Wednesday night that the UAE and France are "forever intertwined".

In an impassioned speech at the official opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Mr Macron said that together Abu Dhabi and Paris are on a path of "conquest" for beauty and culture, as part of a "duty for the youth of your country, the region and the world".

He emphasised the role of "beauty" and "culture" to support civilisations rejecting those who seek to divide people.

Mr Macron addressed Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy commander of the UAE armed forces, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who welcomed hundreds of guests to one of the most anticipated events of the art world.

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Among the guests were King Hamad bin Issa of Bahrain and King Mohammed VI of Morocco, in addition to members of the UAE government and instrumental figures in making the museum a reality, including Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, Saif Ghobash, Director General of the the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and architect Jean Nouvel.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid spoke of the importance of the Louvre Abu Dhabi in "representing the best of the East and the best of the West". In his speech, Sheikh Mohammed called for "an alliance of civilisations, beyond just a dialogue between civilisations", stating that the museum is an embodiment of the "legacy of Zayed", in reference to Sheikh Zayed, founding father of the nation.

He went on to say that it would allow the battling of extremism with "beauty", lauding "our shared human civilisation".

The French president sees the Louvre Abu Dhabi as the foundation for an expansion of French culture and influence in the Middle East and Africa. In his speech, Mr Macron pledged to work hard to get the French language back in schools in the UAE – saying that it is not a "closed language", rather one that is about "reason and light". He said it "should not be a language of colonisation".

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid accompanied the French president, along with the Kings of Bahrain and Morocco, and Afghanistan’s president Ashraf Ghani as they toured the museum.