2023-11-07 16:20:30
The retention of Catherine Pgard, 69, at the head of the public establishment of the castle, the museum and the national domain of Versailles, beyond reason, continues to raise eyebrows among state lawyers. The Court of Auditors, in its report published on November 7says it bluntly: “Maintaining the president beyond the age limit (since March 2021), and beyond the third and last authorized mandate (since October 2022) is problematic. » Already in December 2022, a draft decree to extend his presidency had been rejected by the Council of State. Asked in January, the Senate refused to vote on an amendment allowing Nicolas Sarkozy’s former advisor, appointed in 2011, to remain in office until the Olympic Games.
Read the story: Article reserved for our subscribers Suspended from his functions, a curator of Versailles contests the legality of the interim of Catherine Pgard, the president of the castle
This situation, unusual for a public establishment of this scale, “does not guarantee the perfect legal certainty of decisions taken or delegated to the directors of the public establishment, particularly in terms of incurring expenditure”, write the financial magistrates. According to the Court of Auditors, Catherine Pgard’s decisions could be challenged in court – this was the case recently in the case of a curator, Alexandre Maral, who was laid off. ” In this caseexplains the report, the continuation of Ms. Pgard could even be assimilated to a form of misuse of power insofar as the absence of designation of a successor for more than twenty-seven months results from a failure which reflects on the part of the State, if not a deliberate will of the State, at least a lack of anticipation. »
In its response, the Ministry of Culture feigns indifference. Rue de Valois specifies that an interim decision, taken on February 23, 2021, would be valid “until the appointment of a new president”. Catherine Pgard, believes Rue de Valois, is not in a situation of accumulating mandates, although she is beyond the three authorized exercises. In fact, and the Court of Auditors is not mistaken, this interlude which could run until the 2024 Olympic Games, i.e. beyond three years, “could be assimilated to a fourth term”.
Numerous “points of weakness”
The report, which dissects ten years of management, is not entirely negative. He salutes the growing influence of the castle, abundant cash flow thanks to state support, generally resilient patronage, and the successful opening in 2021 of the Le Grand Control hotel, which brought in 1.9 million euros to the domain.
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