The report is severe and the words harsh. In a report presented this Friday to the city council, the regional chamber of accounts curbs the management of Marseille’s municipal museums, denouncing pell-mell museums without strategy, “insufficient” public services with low attendance and opaque costs.
The report, dated December 2021, was delayed due to the long electoral reserve period in early 2022. Revealed in full ahead of Friday’s council by local investigative outlet Marsactuthis damning report examines the situation of the eleven municipal museums of the period “2012 and following” and therefore essentially concerns the previous majority of Jean-Claude Gaudin (LR), who remained in charge of the second city of France between 1995 and 2020.
“There is still a long way to go”
“While initiatives and projects have been launched in recent years, (…) there is still a long way to go to implement the reforms essential for better service to users”, summarizes the Provence-Alpes-Alpes regional court of auditors. French Riviera.
The multiple renovations have not made it possible to “make them modern establishments”: they do not offer audio guides and written mediation does not exist in English. Attendance “remains low”, especially for the permanent collections, visits to which have become free under the new left-wing majority of Printemps Marseille.
A very high level of absenteeism
As for the costs of each establishment, they “are not identifiable, which prevents any management control action”. Cost reductions are “possible”, according to the chamber, such as on the sale of works linked to exhibitions which have remained unsold at more than 90%, with more than 100,000 unsold books and catalogs stored.
Finally, the court considers that the administration dedicated to the museum is “at the service of agents more than of the public” and notably notes a “very high level of absenteeism”. In the summer of 2021, in the midst of the reopening of post-Covid cultural venues, chronic closures had, for example, disrupted the recovery in Marseille museums.
The Regional Court of Auditors therefore recommends “defining clear objectives for museums, together with means, implementation schedules and evaluation indicators”. In a response letter dated February 9, 2022, Mayor Benoît Payan recognizes “significant difficulties in terms of strategy, management, human resources management” and promises that “the city is seeking and will seek to improve public service”.