2023-08-15 06:00:16
The castle of Méréville, in Essonne, in October 2019. SANDRINE EXPILLY / SIGNATURES
On this sunny Saturday, June 3, it’s a day of celebration at the Domaine de Méréville (Essonne). The castle park, neglected for many years, regains its luster with the inauguration of a footbridge designed by the famous artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. The bridge is adorned with 28 gold balls and 3,000 mirror beads. At this place, in 1784, the Marquis de Laborde had installed a wooden footbridge in the Chinese style, whose pillars were also decorated with golden balls.
Present that day, the president Les Républicains of the departmental council, François Durovray, recalls the importance in his eyes of the rebirth of the castle, located in the commune of Mérévillois: “Arouse this sleeping beauty from her torpor”owned by the department since 2000, contributes to “build the pride of the inhabitants of the territory”. Even if, he sighs, “we don’t have the same means as the Marquis de Laborde”. This is one of the challenges of the creation, in 2017, of a foundation to make sponsorship an additional source of funding for the preservation of heritage.
Since a law of 2003, local authorities can solicit the generosity of individuals or companies, which obtain a tax advantage by supporting an action of general interest. “Patronage is public spending, because there is a tax reductionrecalls the prefect of Essonne, Bertrand Gaume. This is another way for the State to help preserve heritage, in this case, or other causes. » He himself claims to be “the first prefect in France to have used sponsorship” when he was stationed in Corrèze. “We recovered 140,000 euros from patrons” for the renovation of the prefectural hotel in Tulle.
Catering, an economic tool
During an evening organized for the donors of Essonne, on May 12 at the Center Pompidou, he had declared with a smile: “In France, we don’t like to talk about money. But, what the hell!, what do we really believe? Formerly, the kings of France had patrons. The greatest works were not financed by the royal cassette alone. » Even if this tape, which has become republican, remains “essential”.
François Durovray asked Catherine Deneuve to be the godmother of the Méréville park, and it was she who suggested the name of Jean-Michel Othoniel for the creation of the Golden Ball Bridge. For this project, declared on June 3, during the inauguration of the footbridge, Brigitte Vermillet, vice-president of the departmental council, “we collected 170,000 euros for a 1.2 million euro project”. But since 2018, she added, the foundation has received 250 donations and raised 600,000 euros. “We financed more than 10% of the first projects, in addition to public financing”did she say.
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