The minister’s intervention remains stuck in their throats. Under the banner of the Sud Culture Solidaires union, archaeologists who intervene in the context of heritage preservation have just sent an open letter to Rachida Dati, the Minister of Culture.
The letter is based on remarks she made in Dampierre-en-Yvelines at the beginning of April, during the inauguration of the castle’s gate of honor. Classified as a Historic Monument, this jewel of the Chevreuse valley, former property of the Dukes of Luynes since 1657, has benefited from a pharaonic restoration project since 2020.
During her speech to an audience of local elected officials and representatives of state services, Rachida Dati addressed the thorny issue of preventive archaeology, which requires systematic excavations before starting a project.
The Château de Dampierre presented as “a textbook case”
The mayor (without label) of Dampierre, Valérie Palmer, had just praised the “patience and courage” of entrepreneur Franky Mulliez, owner of the castle since 2018, who invested 100 million euros in the acquisition and renovation of the domain, “facing an obstacle course”. “The Château de Dampierre is a textbook case in terms of heritage preservation and town planning rules,” underlined the mayor. He asks this question: how does France support private individuals who use their wealth for the benefit of restoration? There is a protocol that deserves to be simplified. »
Rachida Dati followed suit, announcing the introduction of “new legislation, soon adapted to old buildings, which will make it possible to simplify the protocol and adapt the standards”. The minister then dared this comparison: “I defend the architects of Bâtiments de France. They are our protectors against ugly France and I sometimes compare them to tax inspectors. But when it comes to preventive searches, there are always possible exceptions. »
She added this sentence, which made the archaeologists who signed the open letter jump: “You shouldn’t do excavations for fun… or else you don’t charge. In any case, there will be compensation from the State. I prefer to put money into restoring heritage rather than digging a hole for the sake of digging a hole. »
“An open and frontal attack”
“In short, you have chosen to undermine the work of archaeologists,” write the authors of the letter. We experience your words as an open and frontal attack on the protection of archaeological heritage.”
Invoking the mission of safeguarding archaeological heritage “enshrined in French law since 1945 […] and the European convention for the protection of archaeological heritage, of which France has been a signatory since 1992″, they believe that the minister’s declaration “contempts people and developers in particular, who for 23 years have integrated costs and procedures into their project.
“On average, only 10% of the files received are subject to diagnostic requirements,” specify the signatories. No, definitely no, we don’t dig for fun and we don’t dig holes for the sake of digging holes.” The conclusion of the open letter is blunt: “Madam Minister, less than three months after your appointment, you have already lost our respect.”
Visiting Saint-Witz (Val d’Oise) last Friday, in an Inrap center where the remains of Notre-Dame are studied, Rachida Dati tried to put an end to the controversy arising from her remarks made in the Yvelines by emphasizing “the need for preventive archaeology”.