A short sentence, published on social networks on Wednesday morning, as Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit to Marseille comes to an end. “I thank Sabrina Roubache, Renaud Muselier, Martine Vassal for allowing me to meet the President of the Republic. His words are from Nicolas Pagnol, the grandson of the famous filmmaker and writer from Marseille.
And they are far from trivial, given the context. For the past ten days, a lively controversy has surrounded the management of the Château de la Buzine in Marseille, better known as “my mother’s castle”. “While Nicolas Pagnol has held the presidency of the cultural venue until now, the city of Marseille has decided to change the public service delegation for the management of this building. The call for applications was won by the Center de culture Ouvrière association, not without the protests of the Marseille right and Nicolas Pagnol himself, who launched a petition collecting to date more than 58,000 signatures.
A meeting in a cave
It is an understatement to say that the subject was thorny. According to an article from Figaro published on Sunday, Nicolas Pagnol filed a complaint last week, “physically threatened” and “requested the help of the entire state apparatus, from Rima Abdul-Malak, Minister of Culture, to the Elysee Palace” to weigh in his favor in this matter. Last week, Provence announced a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Nicolas Pagnol on Tuesday, at the Mucem, while a three-day presidential visit to Marseille was looming. Immediately, the Elysee denied the information.
Again on Tuesday morning, a member of the Elysée press service denied again, to 20 Minutes Marseilles, the presence of Nicolas Pagnol alongside the President of the Republic. So what happened? According to corroborating sources interviewed by 20 minutes, Renaud Muselier, president of the Paca region rallied to Emmanuel Macron and close to Nicolas Pagnol, would have liked for a long time the presence of Nicolas Pagnol alongside the Head of State. A wish that would have made the Elysée uncomfortable, knowing that this presence would have drawn the wrath of a Benoît Payan with whom Macronian relations are already fresh to say the least. However, Nicolas Pagnol ended up finding himself alongside the President of the Republic, during the inauguration of the Cosquer cave.
“No exchanges” according to the Elysée
“It’s very nice that Nicolas thanks me but it was Renaud who invited him to the Cosquer cave”, specifies MP Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, a close friend of the presidential couple. The invitations to the inauguration of the Cosquer cave would indeed have been managed by the region in person, and therefore Renaud Muselier and his teams. “They greeted each other and they said things that must remain between them, continues the parliamentarian. It’s between Emmanuel and him. » Asked by 20 minutes on this “meeting”, Nicolas Pagnol indicates that he “does not wish to communicate on this subject. “” He simply greeted him and shook his hand, insists an adviser to the President of the Republic. He had no exchanges. »
In the Marseille right, several sources also mention a long interview “with a positive outcome” in Marseille between the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul-Malak and Nicolas Pagnol during the presidential trip. Asked about this point too, the grandson of Marcel Pagnol indicates that he “cannot confirm this information”. Contacted, the entourage of Rima Abdul-Malak did not respond to our requests.
The right targets “irregularities”
By this “meeting”, and the communication around it, suggesting an interest in this subject in the highest spheres of the State, Nicolas Pagnol and his supporters on the right are no doubt seeking to score points in a political battle already very virulent between Benoît Payan and his opposition in the broad sense. The famous tweet has also been liked by leading Marseille political actors in the field, from the right-wing group on the city council to Renaud Muselier, passing by Martine Vassal or David Galtier, former candidate alongside the latter for the municipal. In opposition to the mayor of Marseille, the resistance would be organized, with, in preparation, an attack before the administrative court, led by a certain Me David Koubbi, a Parisian lawyer known in particular for having defended for a time the ex-trader Jérôme Kerviel.
In the viewfinder: several alleged irregularities in the allocation of this public service delegation. “There are rules of law, says Sylvain Souvestre, mayor of the 11th and 12 arrondissements where the Château de la Buzine is located. If Nicolas Pagnol is telling the truth, the mayor does not have the right to call a candidate from a public service delegation like that, for example. Elected officials who participated in the selection process also gave details of the award criteria on social networks! We just want to stand up for the law. »
Motion of support
“Me, I am very bored by this story which is about my constituency, explains Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, who started her career as a film producer. Nicolas Pagnol, I did not know this boy very well, but it remains a legacy, a heritage. I also saw the world of culture mobilize and be shocked. Pagnol set up the first film studios in Marseille, we must remember. “” We must also assume at some point that it is a political choice, pleads Sylvain Souvestre. The Department [présidé par Martine Vassal] ordered an audit which proves the management of the Château de la Buzine was good! On June 23, a motion of support was tabled at the departmental council by the mayor LR of Allauch, Lionel de Cala.
However, a leaden screed seems to surround this file which has become explosive. Contacted, neither the cabinet of Martine Vassal, nor the town hall of Marseille wished to speak on this subject. “I can’t communicate about Pagnol and La Buzine”, says the deputy mayor of Marseille in charge of culture, Jean-Marc Coppola. As for Renaud Muselier, he did not respond to our requests. The subject of the Buzine was to be raised during the city council this Friday, before being postponed to the city council added at the last minute on July 7th. Reason mentioned? The fifteen days necessary for the 101 elected officials to study the file were not respected.