French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed close ally Catherine Pegarde as France’s new culture minister, replacing Rachida Dati, who is stepping down to run for Paris mayor in March’s municipal elections.
Pegarde’s choice was far from surprising. She ran the Palace of Versailles for 13 years and has served as Macron’s cultural adviser since 2024. Before that, she was a political reporter, editing magazines lepointalso served as a speechwriter for former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
At the Palace of Versailles, she oversaw major renovations that opened nearly 65,000 square feet of new visitor space, increased fundraising efforts, and kept major restoration projects on track. Her appointment was not universally welcomed at first, but some within the heritage industry questioned whether she had the traditional cultural management background for the job.
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Pegaard inherited a sketchy ministry. It is dealing with budget cuts and the fallout from the October theft of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre. Dati’s resignation comes just a day after a parliamentary inquiry pointed to serious security flaws, followed by the resignation of the Louvre’s director Laurence Deckard.
During her turbulent 25 months in office, Darty was seen as a combative figure who often cast herself as a champion of France’s rural culture while accusing parts of the art world of elitism. She is no stranger to the onslaught of French media and government reshuffles (she has survived four). french magazine Tramaclaim that she “During her tenure at the Ministry of Culture, she “largely lost the trust of the cultural sector”, underscoring widespread doubts among prominent cultural figures about her leadership abilities. Media commentators also called on reporters to boycott interviews with her.
Duti did, however, introduce a long-awaited bill for the return of colonial-era objects, although no new law was ultimately passed. Another controversial proposal, to merge France’s public broadcaster, has since stalled.
Her relationship with the media soured further after reports emerged that she had received hundreds of thousands of euros from major companies before entering government. In September, Dati appeared in court over accusations that he lobbied for carmaker Renault while he was a member of the European Parliament. She denies any wrongdoing.
