Despite preparation of a number of renovation projects since the 1980s and drafting of preliminary studies by the Chief Architect for Historic Monuments, Etienne Poncelet, in 1999, work on the restoration of the Hôtel de la Marine had still not started in 2004, due to lack of funds.

At the end of 2004 the French Ministries of Defence and Culture agreed on the urgent nature of the work and the need to find a sponsor to finance reinstatement of the 12-column peristyle of the façade and the main halls - work which had been regarded as necessary for close to 30 years.

Part of the hold-up was because of a particularity of the Hôtel de la Marine: it is a State-owned building, and until now the government has never relied on private donations to maintain its buildings.

The Bouygues group has previously been involved in safeguarding the country's historical heritage: in the 1980s, for example, it reproduced the famous "Marly Horses" statues standing in Place de la Concorde so that the originals could be preserved in the Louvre Museum. Even construction of the Grand Arch of La Défense is an aspect of historical heritage since the building commemorates the bicentenary of the French Revolution and closes the historical line of sight extending from the Tuileries Gardens near the Louvre, through the Arc de Triomphe, to La Défense.