The president of the Cultural Affairs Commission of the LR Assembly, Alexandre Portier, declared this Wednesday, October 22, to postpone the decision on the possible creation of a commission of inquiry relating to the protection of heritage, three days after the spectacular robbery at the Louvre.
The reason: the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, announced on Tuesday that she had entrusted deputy Jérémie Patrier-Leitus (Horizons), also a member of the Cultural Affairs Committee, with a mission relating to the security of heritage sites, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior.
“Thousands of castles, museums and churches threatened”
“To avoid duplication”, and while waiting for “the precise mission letter” that defines “the scope” of this mission, Alexandre Portier proposed to his colleagues to “suspend” the creation of this commission of inquiry.
“So, if it is necessary to create a commission of inquiry, obviously, I would be in favor of it as long as it is useful for public debate,” he added during a meeting of the Cultural Affairs commission, recalling that beyond the Louvre, “today there are thousands of castles, museums, chapels and public and private churches that are threatened daily.”
Deputy Alexis Corbière (environmental group) regretted this choice. Rachida Dati “could have let the parliamentary commission be created instead of appointing one of us,” he criticized.
“The country failed to protect its largest museum in the world”
“I think the commission of inquiry you proposed was a good idea. It’s not the same as having a colleague appointed by the minister,” he added.
The powers of a commission of inquiry include subpoenas with an obligation to comply with them, investigative powers and holding hearings under oath.
The Renaissance deputy, Céline Calvez, stressed the importance of guaranteeing the “means” that will be made available for the mission announced by Rachida Dati. Jérémie Patrier-Leitus, for his part, declared himself available to his colleagues to “examine what the correct scope of this mission is and whether it could be useful.”
“The country failed to protect its largest museum in the world, just as it failed to protect its churches, its monuments and its museums. And we must work on it collectively,” he added.
On Sunday, thieves still wanted to carry out a spectacular robbery at the Louvre, stealing jewels valued at 88 million euros. A theft that caused a political and media storm over the protection of the works of the most visited museum in the world.
Source: BFM TV
