“Rough” management, “opaque” or even “derivative” decisions… In a harsh report, the Court of Auditors on Monday examined the management of the “Pious Establishments”, which manage an exceptional French real estate and spiritual heritage in Rome.
Placed under the authority of the French Embassy, the “Pious Establishments of France in Rome and Loreto”, often called “the Pious”, manage in particular thirteen rental buildings located in the historic centre of Rome, as well as five churches, including the famous Trinity of the Mountains and Saint-Louis des Français, which houses three world-famous paintings by Caravaggio.
However, “there are numerous and obvious shortcomings” in the management of this heritage of “considerable value”, regrets the report covering the period 2015-2022.
Firstly, because this heritage “is not known with precision”: neither the churches nor even the collections are included in the balance sheet and “no estimate has been made of the value of these works.”
These gaps lead to “risks of dispossession that, for some, have already materialized,” the report says.
“Off-accounting” management
As regards the housing stock, the Court emphasises an “opaque policy of allocation and setting of rents” for the 148 apartments and 31 shops, on average “below the low range” in these sought-after districts, and with “few justified advantages granted to many tenants.
The Court also deplores the “off-balance” management of certain bank accounts with “numerous cash payments”, sometimes in the form of wages, rent, reimbursements of expenses, etc.
Added to this is the “lack of cooperation with the Ministry of Culture”. As its recommendations on fire-fighting have not been followed, there is “a proven risk to the safety of property and people” in the churches, according to the Court.
Another problem: “significant deviations” in the work, carried out without public tendering, entrusted to a small number of companies, “with the risk of significant overbilling”.
How can this situation be explained? The Court underlines a “long-standing ambiguity” concerning the status of the Pieux which “has fuelled excesses”, although, according to it, French ownership of the heritage “has recently been confirmed” by several Italian rulings.
Considering that “the responsibility of the ambassadors and of the State is engaged” and that the latter “must put an end without delay to the errors observed”, the Court affirms that the legal framework “must imperatively evolve” and mentions the creation of an establishment with financial autonomy or a public establishment.
Source: BFM TV
