It may be cliché to say that Paris is a museum, but it is also a welcome reality at a time when all French cultural institutions, deemed ‘inessential’ by the government, remain indefinitely closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the bureaucracy of city ordinances and public-private partnerships, public art offers us a window into the priorities of different local governments and philosophies for urban renewal. At its best, however, public art symbolizes a utopian effort to democratize the art world, presenting works to be seen and felt by all.