InvestigationA hushed battle is currently being played out in the world of culture. His stake: the presidency of the Palace of Versailles, soon to become vacant with the imminent departure of Catherine Pegard. Behind the scenes, suitors crowd and intrigue for this most coveted position.
One decor, two atmospheres. Barely elected, in 2017, Emmanuel Macron welcomed Vladimir Poutine with great fanfare to the Palace of Versailles, a symbol of French power since Louis XIV. Five years later, on March 10 and 11, shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the French president received his European counterparts for a summit in Versailles to decide on sanctions against the head of the Kremlin.
In 2017, Catherine Pgard, president of the Palace of Versailles, received the two heads of state on the red carpet rolled out in the marble courtyard. This spring 2022, the tireless mistress of the place was always on deck, coordinating – with the Elysée, the Quai d’Orsay and the prefecture – the reception of the twenty-seven European delegations and the working dinner under the golds of the Hall of Mirrors, until quarter past three in the morning. Two tense days ended with a ceremony to commemorate the National and European Day in tribute to the victims of terrorism at the Grand Trianon.
“The best showcase in France”
Managing practical details and unforeseen events, opening small rooms for diplomatic asides, ensuring the placement of microphones on the dinner table… of the most important positions in culture in France, one of the most coveted too. A function struggling with politics, history, art. The Palace of Versailles, “it’s the best showcase in France”, summarizes the presenter Stéphane Bern, a lover of the places, where he often comes to film the program “Secrets d’histoire”. More than his predecessors, Emmanuel Macron made Versailles the setting for his power and his weekend residence, behind the well-protected walls of the Pavillon de la Lanterne, between the heated swimming pool and the tennis court.
But there is a question that today agitates all of Paris, that of the departure of Catherine Pgard. Appointed in November 2011 by Nicolas Sarkozy, whose adviser she was, renewed five years later by François Hollande, then again in 2019 by Emmanuel Macron for three years, the former political journalist of the Point has been hit since March 4, 2021 by the age limit: she will be 68 on August 5. According to the rules of the civil service, she should prepare her boxes, but she always holds the bar.
However, the statutes of the establishment have not been modified by any decree of the Council of State. The pandemic, which has bled the accounts of the public establishment, has swayed the rules. Fearing that the liner would capsize in the storm, the Elysée has seen fit not to change captain. “An interim that lasts” headlined, in January 2022, The Art Gallery. “A succession that is long overdue”, was impatient the following month the Figaro. “I only think about what I have to do, I don’t know when things will end,” she dodges.
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