3 billion euros of the volume of activity

Drouot Paris square was recently rocked by major scandals. What is the position of the Council of sales

The decisions of the Council of the sales are taken in a collegial manner, I do not view individual-dualiste on the subject. Our mission is to maintain or to revitalize the good character of sales companies and to promote the economic growth of the sector. We asked sales at Drouot companies verify the relationships they had with the Commissionaires, we took the steps necessary to the auctioneer indicted, we estimated positive order development measures quickly by Drouot. The Council is realistic on the field of its competences and the levers available to it.

The complain you

Je think that, in certain circumstances, it would be useful to have a capacity of auto-saisine, which we do not now have. We have never seized of claims on the twists and turns that you discuss. But it is clear that Drouot should take other measures, to deadlines that it is not for me to fix. They seem indispensable. Everyone needs to know that we are vigilant and attentive.

Furthermore the Ministry of Justice has appointed a group of three figures responsible for making a report on the legal and economic security auction sales. Catherine Chadelat, which is part of this mission, is a member of the Council of the sales.

More generally, have what disciplinary actions you carried out

We have been seized in 2009 of approximately 270 claims pro-venant customers, sellers or buyers, often gaps in communication with the auctioneers. All tried, they have led to twelve disciplinary sanctions. On a total volume of auctions in France in 2009 in the field of voluntary sales of 2.2 billion euros, it is fortunately little important.

Council of sales has also a role of business intelligence. You led this year a study encrypted

Yes. To my knowledge there is no international public statistics on sales companies. We have initially identified stakeholders, with the help of society Noeo Council. About 11,000 companies of auctions around the world, 3 200 work in the sector Art and collectibles. We have identified 20 more large, representing 6.3 billion euros of the volume of activity. The French remains important in the global sales activity. The France has remained resilient in a period of intense economic crisis, even if the volume of activity increased through the historic sale of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection. Except for Christie's, whose capital is French, the first French company is Artcurial in fifteenth place, with 70 million euros in auctions. If one combines the activity of all companies of sales is - almost-, the Drouot hotel is located in the list of the 20 in the fourth position, just behind Heritage Auction, sales of Dallas home. There, on the other hand, the presence of 9 Chinese companies in the ranking of the 20 first.

Should we not recognize that the Parisian place is in decline from the new world situation of the art market

The France is, with China, one of the few countries to have growth of activity between 2008 and 2009 ( 9.6). It has a long tradition of the auction, but voluntary sales model as it exists today dates from ten years. We begin to take advantage of this new system.

Must the plan still undergo changes

The Senate has adopted, in October 2009, a legislative proposal to transpose the European directive on services in 2006, we are waiting for the debate in the National Assembly. We would be favourable to some planned transversality in the text, such as the sale of OTC by auctions companies or the sale of new capacity, or even a possible extension of the mechanism of the auction to the assignment of certain intangible assets such as patents of companies.