Catherine Pégard, a former film journalist who served in Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet and was head of the Palace of Versailles, has been appointed France’s culture minister.
Pegal will succeed Rashida Dati, who handed in her resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday morning to pursue her ambition to become mayor of Paris, which Dati described as “the fight of my life”. Municipal elections will begin in two and a half weeks.
Pegard’s appointment was announced Thursday, hours before the start of the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s equivalent of the Oscars.
After presiding over the Palace of Versailles for 13 years, Mr. Pegal was appointed director of cultural development at Afarla, the French agency co-managing the development of the AlUla archaeological site in Saudi Arabia. She most recently served as Mr Macron’s adviser on cultural issues.
Dati remained in office for two years, despite several changes in government, and spearheaded a cultural and rural program to promote access to culture in rural areas. Dati also reportedly fought to limit cuts to the culture budget, which will reach 4.2 billion euros, 200 million euros less than in 2025. Dati also led a push to include a panel discussion on culture at last year’s AI summit hosted by the Elysée Palace.
Mr Pegal may be the last culture minister to be appointed by Mr Macron, whose second term ends next year. As France struggles to reduce its national debt, the film and television industry is worried about the possibility of further budget cuts. The National Film Commission (CNC), which supports this field, has also been criticized for declining box office results.
