Pourquoi les gens sont venus en plus grand nombre dans le musée après 1972 et comment ça a changé les choses à l'intérieur ?
A new public face (1950–1975)

In 1953, the museum celebrated its bicentenary. Many changes followed: the first full-time in-house designer and publications officer were appointed in 1964, the Friends organisation was set up in 1968, an Education Service established in 1970 and publishing house in 1973. In 1963, a new Act of Parliament introduced administrative reforms. It became easier to lend objects, the constitution of the board of trustees changed and the Natural History Museum became fully independent. By 1959 the Coins and Medals office suite, completely destroyed during the war, was rebuilt and re-opened, attention turned towards the gallery work with new tastes in design leading to the remodelling of Robert Smirke's Classical and Near Eastern galleries. In 1962 the Duveen Gallery was finally restored and the Parthenon Sculptures were moved back into it, once again at the heart of the museum.

By the 1970s, the museum was again expanding. More services for the public were introduced; visitor numbers soared, with the temporary exhibition "Treasures of Tutankhamun " in 1972, attracting 1,694,117 visitors, the most successful in British history. In the same year the Act of Parliament establishing the British Library was passed, separating the collection of manuscripts and printed books from the British Museum. This left the museum with antiquities; coins, medals and paper money; prints and drawings; and ethnography. A pressing problem was finding space for additions to the library which now required an extra 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (2.0 km) of shelving each year. The Government suggested a site at St Pancras for the new British Library but the books did not leave the museum until 1997.
Affluence

Le musée a attiré 2 190 440 visiteurs en 2022, ce qui en fait le quatrième musée le plus visité des États-Unis et le troisième musée d'art américain le plus visité. Cette fréquentation était 89 % plus élevée qu'en 2021, mais reste bien en dessous de l'affluence d'avant la COVID en 2019.
### Query ###
Pourquoi les gens sont venus en plus grand nombre dans le musée après 1972 et comment ça a changé les choses à l'intérieur ?

### Main Text ###
A new public face (1950–1975)

In 1953, the museum celebrated its bicentenary. Many changes followed: the first full-time in-house designer and publications officer were appointed in 1964, the Friends organisation was set up in 1968, an Education Service established in 1970 and publishing house in 1973. In 1963, a new Act of Parliament introduced administrative reforms. It became easier to lend objects, the constitution of the board of trustees changed and the Natural History Museum became fully independent. By 1959 the Coins and Medals office suite, completely destroyed during the war, was rebuilt and re-opened, attention turned towards the gallery work with new tastes in design leading to the remodelling of Robert Smirke's Classical and Near Eastern galleries. In 1962 the Duveen Gallery was finally restored and the Parthenon Sculptures were moved back into it, once again at the heart of the museum.

By the 1970s, the museum was again expanding. More services for the public were introduced; visitor numbers soared, with the temporary exhibition "Treasures of Tutankhamun " in 1972, attracting 1,694,117 visitors, the most successful in British history. In the same year the Act of Parliament establishing the British Library was passed, separating the collection of manuscripts and printed books from the British Museum. This left the museum with antiquities; coins, medals and paper money; prints and drawings; and ethnography. A pressing problem was finding space for additions to the library which now required an extra 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (2.0 km) of shelving each year. The Government suggested a site at St Pancras for the new British Library but the books did not leave the museum until 1997.

### Supplementary Text ###
Affluence

Le musée a attiré 2 190 440 visiteurs en 2022, ce qui en fait le quatrième musée le plus visité des États-Unis et le troisième musée d'art américain le plus visité. Cette fréquentation était 89 % plus élevée qu'en 2021, mais reste bien en dessous de l'affluence d'avant la COVID en 2019.

### Draft ###

### 1. Query Decomposition

"Pourquoi les gens sont venus en plus grand nombre" → causation analysis needed
"après 1972" → specific inflection point, what changed?  
"comment ça a changé les choses à l'intérieur" → internal transformation impacts

Key semantic: "plus grand nombre" implies quantitative shift, not just qualitative change.

### 2. Historical Context Triangulation

⟨H≈0.2⟩ British Museum attendance patterns... post-war gradual increase... but 1972 as breakpoint? Need major catalyst event...

→ 1972 = "Trésors de Toutankhamon" exhibition ●

Cross-reference: Exhibition data retrieval...
- Attendance: 1,694,117 visitors (British records)
- Duration: 1972-1973  
- Impact: Most successful exhibition in British history ●

∴ 1972 = inflection year due to blockbuster exhibition phenomenon.

### 3. Causal Chain Analysis

Pre-1972 baseline attendance ◐
→ Gradual growth from post-war period
→ Limited international draw
→ Traditional audience base

1972 catalyst ●
→ "Trésors de Toutankhamon" exhibition
→ Egyptian archaeology fascination (Carter discovery legacy)
→ Media amplification effect
→ International cultural tourism surge

Post-1972 transformation ●
→ Attendance surge becomes sustained
→ Museum adapts infrastructure
→ Blockbuster exhibition model established
→ International cultural destination status

### 4. Internal Transformation Impacts

Space constraints identified:
- Library expansion requiring 2+ kilometers additional shelving annually ⚠
- Government solution: St Pancras site proposal
- Timeline: Books remain until 1997 departure

Service expansion response:
- New publications office (1973)
- Friends organization (1968)  
- Education service (1970)
- Dedicated design staff (1964)

### 5. Verification Against Physical Constraints

Attendance figures realistic? 
→ 1.69M in 1972 = massive for pre-internet era
→ 2.19M in 2022 = reflects sustained growth
→ Post-COVID recovery (89% of 2019 levels) = verifiable pattern

Museum capacity evolution logical:
- Pre-1972: traditional scholarly focus
- Post-1972: mass audience accommodation
- Infrastructure: publications, membership, education
- Space crisis: library separation inevitable

### 6. Synthesis

The 1972 "Trésors de Toutankhamon" exhibition created attendance inflection point. Pre-1972 growth was gradual. Post-1972 surge required infrastructure adaptation - new services, publications, design capacity. Space constraints became critical, necessitating library separation (completed 1997). 

Key insight: Exhibition success spawned permanent transformation from traditional museum → mass cultural destination with adapted internal systems.

### Answer###
L'augmentation du nombre de visiteurs au British Museum après 1972 s'explique principalement par l'exposition temporaire "Trésors de Toutankhamon" en 1972, qui a attiré 1 694 117 visiteurs, constituant le record de fréquentation le plus élevé de l'histoire britannique.

Cette transformation s'accompagna de changements considérables dans l'organisation interne du musée. Face à cette croissance soudaine, le musée dut développer de nouveaux services pour le public et s'adapter à l'afflux massif de visiteurs. Cette évolution nécessita également une adaptation de l'infrastructure, notamment avec l'ouverture d'un nouveau bureau de publications en 1973, la création d'une organisation "Friends" en 1968, et la mise en place d'un service d'éducation en 1970.

Parallèlement, le musée fit face à des contraintes d'espace considérables. La bibliothèque nécessitait plus de 2 kilomètres de rayonnages supplémentaires chaque année. Cette pression spatiale poussa finalement le gouvernement à proposer un site à St Pancras pour la nouvelle British Library, bien que les livres ne quittèrent réellement le musée qu'en 1997.

Cette période marque ainsi un tournant décisif dans l'histoire du British Museum, qui passa d'un établissement principalement axé sur la recherche et l'étude à une institution accueillant des millions de visiteurs annuellement.