Paris. The composition of the team of advisors of Catherine Pgard, appointed Minister of Culture on February 26, shows a balance between administrative continuity and new profiles coming from the state apparatus or the political sphere. Of the nine advisors already appointed, four were already present in Rachida Dati’s cabinet. They are Fleur d’Harcourt (40 years old, ENS, HEC), advisor in charge of books, reading, the French language and the languages of France (reference to regional languages!); Hubert Tardy-Joubert (41 years old, ENS), diplomatic advisor; Noémie Guez (30 years old, Sciences Po), advisor for artistic creation; and Hugues Ghenassia-de Ferran, advisor in charge of heritage, architecture and artistic crafts (60 years old, ENA), a very experienced profile to follow the Louvre “file”.
Alongside these continuities appear new profiles. Luc Allaire (68 years old, ENS, ENA) has held the strategic position of chief of staff since March 4. He combines extensive experience in the civil service with knowledge of the cultural sector (he was deputy director of the Paris Opera). He is supported by Yannick Faure (40), deputy director in charge of media, cinema and cultural industries. He was chief of staff to the president of the Superior Audiovisual Council before heading the legal and international affairs department of the Ministry of Culture.
Frédéric Baptista (32 years old, BTS) was appointed chief of staff. A Macronian from the start, having worked in the European Parliament, the National Assembly and several ministerial offices, he worked with Élisabeth Borne at the Ministry of Labor then at Matignon. Julie Dulcire (34 years old, Dauphine) has for her part been appointed parliamentary advisor and responsible for relations with local elected officials. She previously served in the National Assembly and in the ministerial offices of Health and the Economy.
Finally, Carmelo Zizzo (34 years old, Paris School of Economics) serves as advisor in charge of the budget, taxation and social dialogue. Having worked at the General Directorate of the Treasury, he worked on issues of public finance and economic policies before joining the Ministry of Culture.
The composition of the cabinet reflects a strong presence of profiles from the senior civil service and major administrative institutions. Several advisors have in fact spent a significant part of their career in central administrations, administrative courts or ministerial offices. This predominance of senior civil servants corresponds to a structural trend in ministerial cabinets, where legal, economic or administrative skills have become more important than knowledge of the sector for which they are responsible.
Several functions were not filled at the time of publication of the first decrees. Positions linked to territories, communication, artistic and cultural education, higher cultural education or even speeches thus remained to be allocated.
