“CThis little joke was long premeditated…” Nicolas Pagnol bursts out laughing. Then continues in a playful tone: “I am happy to have excited those who don’t like me, delighted to have made my friends laugh… and sorry to have disappointed those who saw in my candidacy hope for Marseille!”
Because no, contrary to what the poster posted Sunday on social networks might suggest, the grandson of the author of Marius has no intention of running for city hall in Marseille in 2026.
“A list called NTM (1)I thought it was big enough for everyone to understand that it was a hoax, smiles the fifty-year-old. But the violence of the attacks that this gag provoked proves that some people took it seriously. Maybe because I released this fish on March 31st and not April 1st? So let it be clear to everyone: I will never be a candidate anywhere, I will never support any politician. I express my opinions in the ballot box – nowhere else.”
The blows rain
If this affair has taken on such proportions around the Old Port, it is obviously because the relations between Nicolas Pagnol and the PS mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, are execrable.
After managing the Château de la Buzine for nine years – the famous “my mother’s château” mentioned in the Childhood memories –the association chaired by Nicolas Pagnol was ousted last June.
The City, owner of the walls, first designated another public service delegate, before canceling the procedure for awarding this DSP and announcing out of suddeness the resumption of the site under municipal management.
Since then, blows have been raining down between the city councilor and the playwright’s descendant. In September, the latter prohibited the municipality from exploiting the work and image of the southern writer. He also filed a complaint for insult and defamation against the chief magistrate and five of his deputies.
As president of the Château de la Buzine Association, Nicolas Pagnol also requested all documents, emails, reports, studies, etc. linked to this DSP. “Just to make sure there was no favoritism or influence peddlinghe squeaks. To date, despite a favorable opinion from the Cada (2)I got no feedback.”
The force of the war
In the meantime, the dispute has shifted to financial matters. Pagnol estimates that the town hall, which kept all the goods and equipment left at the castle, owes 100,000 euros to his association. He also points to several unpaid bills that the City – according to him – must assume.
“Because of this, we will find ourselves in cessation of payments and placed under safeguard procedure, he accuses. Payan’s objective is clear. If the association disappears, it will not be able to become a civil party in a lawsuit likely to demonstrate that the municipality did not respect the rules for granting a DSP.”
Municipal services, for their part, plead good faith. “The City is working to identify the nature of the documents, with complex wording, requested by the association”assures the spokesperson for Benoît Payan (3).
Not convinced, Nicolas Pagnol seized the administrative court for summary proceedings to “get things going”.
He is also preparing to file a criminal complaint for the threats that the mayor allegedly made against him by telephone last June.
1. NTM, for “Nous Tous Marseille”, is a nod to the famous Parisian rap group.
2. Cada: center for access to administrative documents.
3. Quoted by Le Figaro on March 28.
2024-04-01 17:06:04
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