Pierre-Olivier Costa resumes his duties at Mucem

On November 1, Pierre-Olivier Costa returned to the presidency of the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (Mucem), in Marseille. The information, announced by the person concerned to AFP, was confirmed by the Ministry of Culture. His four-month protective suspension, decided on June 30, expired on October 31 without being extended. Anne-Marie Le Guével, general inspector of cultural affairs who was acting in the interim, informed the agents of her departure.

Appointed in November 2022, then reappointed in November 2025, the former chief of staff of Brigitte Macron was dismissed in order to “restore a climate of trust” in the establishment. For several months, trade union organizations have been denouncing the management’s management methods and the deterioration of working conditions. In a letter sent at the end of June to the Minister of Culture, Catherine Pgard, they spoke of a climate “deleterious” and numerous malfunctions.

Two investigations had been opened: one, administrative, entrusted to the General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs (IGAC), concerning ill-being at work; the other, criminal, for acts of moral and sexual harassment, following a report from the ministry to the public prosecutor’s office on the basis of article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

. No results of these investigations have been made public. Pierre-Olivier Costa claims not to have been heard as part of the criminal investigation. The end of his suspension does not prejudge their conclusions. The president of Mucem intends to serve the remaining two years of his mandate. He believes that the absence of an extension of his suspension means that the ministry has not “not much or nothing”

to blame him. His return immediately provoked a reaction from staff. According toLe Figaro