The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed Thursday the condemnation of the Cultural Cultural Space Management Society for “concealment of favoritism” in the award of the Carrières des Enlightenment market, an emblematic tourist site of Baux- de Provence. It has also increased the sanction of the former mayor of the town.
In addition to the four months suspended prison sentence for favoritism pronounced at first instance, the Court inflicted a fine of 10,000 euros to Michel Fenard, who had granted the delegation of public service to Culturespaces.
The convictions for concealing the company's favoritism and its CEO, Bruno Monnier, were confirmed. Culturespaces will have to pay a fine of 100,000 euros, while Bruno Monnier was sentenced to six months in prison sentence and 60,000 euros fine.
The court had recognized that Culturespaces had benefited from “privileged” information in the allocation of the exploitation of careers, in violation of the principles of equality between candidates.
On the other hand, the Court of Appeal declared inadmissible the constitution of civil party of the company cathedral of images, at the origin of this judicial case initiated in 2010, and dismissed it from its requests. At first instance, the defendants were ordered to pay him 551,203 euros.
Cathedral of images, which had designed and operated for 35 years video -projection shows in these old limestone quarries where Jean Cocteau had turned “Le Testament d'Orpheus”, disputes the attribution of the site to Culturespaces. She believes that this company, today a global reference for immersive exhibitions, had obtained the public market of baux-provence by benefiting from an anti-competitive advantage.
“It is a victory because the Court deemed inadmissible cathedral of images, at the origin of all the procedures,” reacted the lawyers of the defense, my Sébastien Schapira and Antoine Galudec for Bruno Monnier, and Me Matthieu Ollivry for Culturespaces.
“However, the Court did not draw all the consequences, unlike the Council of State. We will therefore form an appeal in cassation so that our innocence is recognized in consistency with the decision of the Council of State,” they added.
In October 2023, the highest administrative jurisdiction held that Culturespaces could continue to operate the site. The Council of State had canceled a decision which threatened to end the delegation of public service granted to the company
(With AFP)
