Less than a fortnight after publishing the detailed text of France’s
long-awaited auction reform, Justice Minster Marylise Lebranchu moved with a swiftness that surprised some observers by announcing the list of members on August 1.
Her decree names five auction representatives to sit on the 11-person council: Gérard Champin, until recently the President of the Chambre Nationale des Commissaires-Priseurs (national auction body); Paris auction chief Dominique Ribeyre; Laure de Beauvau-Craon, head of Sotheby’s France; François Curiel, head of Christie’s France; and Paris auctioneer Antoine Beaussant.
Annette Vinchon, from France’s experts’ association, will also sit on the council, along with five magistrates nominated directly by the Justice Ministry. Contrary to fears that the council would be dominated by civil servants, it thus appears evenly split between government appointees and representatives of the auction profession, with the latter holding the balance of power after Gérard Champin was voted in as Council President on August 2.
The council will meet on September 12 and its members can expect a busy first few weeks: the new law comes into effect on October 1 and any auction firm, French or not, can stages sales (other than court-order sales which will remain the domain of state-appointed commissaires-priseurs) after that date, providing it has obtained council approval. The council is also empowered to “sanction any failure to respect the law, regulations and professional obligations”.
Early announcement of Conseil des Ventes council
FRANCE: THE make-up of the Conseil des Ventes, the new auction watchdog to vet all companies wishing to stage auctions in France, has been announced far quicker than expected.
