PARIS, FRANCE.-French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is being criticized for the La force de l'art exhibiton he came up with in October. The exhibition is currently on view at the Grand Palais in Paris. The idea was to show off France’s leading painters and artists and boost the French art market. The exhibition includes 350 works of art. But some artists have decided to boycott the event. They are angry of the government’s interference in the arts.

Eric Meyer, the editor of Arts Magazine, said, “Politically the show has very uncomfortable overtones. It makes us think of times long ago when Louis XIV would select [court] painters and declare which artists were good enough to paint for the king. Art is about freedom and should not be mixed up with politics... Art is often about making political statements, about saying something which is perhaps not politically correct. I can understand why some artists do not want to be associated with a government show."