Bonum Certa Men Certa

Guest Article: More Battistelli Revelations From the Archives of the Municipal Council of Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Honi soit qui mal y pense

Les Echos puff pieces
The controversial puff piece from the EPO's "media partner" (i.e. paid by EPO budget), which Battistelli routinely uses for his personal self-promotion purposes. Source [PDF]



Summary: The EPO's chief, Mr. Battistelli, is caught in scandals not only within the EPO but also in his home town, where he is said to be protected by the local mayor Arnaud Péricard

A recent Techrights posting about the Theátre Alexandre Dumas (TAD) scandal included the following comments from a reader: "There is however a more serious question to be answered: the town council discusses and agrees upon (or rejects) any cultural event involving the TAD but there is ONE event that didn’t even give the perception of a discussion during the sessions of the Council: the now infamously known 'inventor of the year' event. Why does the Council have to discuss and agree upon the use of the venue in all other cases but not in the case involving the EPO?"



These comments prompted some inquisitive observers to take a closer look into the archives of the municipal council of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It seems that there is no publicly accessible documentation relating to the upcoming European Inventor of the Year event which is due to be held at the TAD on 7 June.

"It seems that there is no publicly accessible documentation relating to the upcoming European Inventor of the Year event which is due to be held at the TAD on 7 June."It is however possible that these matters have been discussed by the municipal council in a closed session.

The council's official website explains that not all council sessions are public: "Les séances du conseil municipal, qui se tiennent à l’hôtel de ville, sont publiques sauf quand la majorité des élus décide du huis-clos de certaines séances, on parle alors de €«conseil municipal priv逻."

Translation: "The meetings of the municipal council, which are held at the town hall, are public except when the majority of elected officials decide to hold certain meetings in camera, in which case one speaks of a "private session of the municipal council.""

"Battistelli is a seasoned political operator and he does not need to be told that when you are up to mischief the smaller the paper trail the less likelihood of getting rumbled."This could provide a possible explanation for the absence of publicly accessible records concerning the Inventor of the Year event.

Battistelli is a seasoned political operator and he does not need to be told that when you are up to mischief the smaller the paper trail the less likelihood of getting rumbled. In fact it's even better if there isn't any paper trail at all because then it's almost impossible to get caught out...

Having seen his modus operandi at the EPO over the last eight years it is not difficult to imagine that he came up with some flimsy pretext like "security concerns" in order to manipulate the municipal council into conducting its deliberations on matters concerning the Inventor of the Year event behind closed doors.

It has also been noticed that the "Journal de Saint Germain" has not given any publicity to the upcoming event.

"Having seen his modus operandi at the EPO over the last eight years it is not difficult to imagine that he came up with some flimsy pretext like "security concerns" in order to manipulate the municipal council into conducting its deliberations on matters concerning the Inventor of the Year event behind closed doors."For those not familiar with the "Journal de Saint Germain", this publication is a semi-monthly newsletter issued by the municipal council under the control of the majority "Union pour Saint Germain" group.

Its critics, for example those from the opposition group "Saint Germain autrement", refer to it as the local equivalent of "Pravda".

The JSG regularly includes adulatory "puff pieces" about Battstelli and his exploits. For example in October 2014 it published a short article about an interview which Battistelli gave to the EPO's leading French media partner "Les Echos" and it referred to him in ingratiating terms as the President of the EPO "who is also a municipal councillor".

"The JSG regularly includes adulatory "puff pieces" about Battstelli and his exploits."That particular "puff piece" provoked an angry response from the opposition group "Saint Germain autrement" which posted an article on its blog containing a detailed criticism of Battistelli's attacks on the freedom of association and union rights at the EPO.

For some reason the JSG has so far maintained complete silence about the European Inventor of the Year event. It's almost as if they are under orders not to draw too much attention to it. Some observers have speculated that this could be part of a deliberate strategy on the part of Battistelli and his accomplices to avoid unwelcome public scrutiny in the build-up to the event.

Whatever the reason behind the silence of the JSG, the absence of publicly accessible documentation in the council archives in this particular case is quite striking because the archives otherwise contain many documents relating to deliberations about cultural affairs and, in particular, the use of the TAD.

"Whatever the reason behind the silence of the JSG, the absence of publicly accessible documentation in the council archives in this particular case is quite striking because the archives otherwise contain many documents relating to deliberations about cultural affairs and, in particular, the use of the TAD."People who have delved into the archives have noticed that Battistelli's name regularly crops up on such documents.

For example in 2017 he was involved in the negotiation of a co-production contract for a musical show "Irish Celtic Generations" which was staged at the TAD in December 2017. [PDF]

Battistelli's name appears as the rapporteur on the relevant council dossier D-17-F-11 (PDF) and he is named as the authorised representative of the municipal council on the co-production contract signed with the production company, SARL INDIGO Productions.

"The role of the local mayor Arnaud Péricard may also deserve scrutiny to clarify whether or not he is in cahoots with Battistelli in this affair."Even if there is no publicly accessible documentation relating to the use of the TAD for hosting the Inventor of the Year event it is almost impossible to imagine that Battistelli has not been directly involved in the deliberations and preparations concerning this event.

The role of the local mayor Arnaud Péricard may also deserve scrutiny to clarify whether or not he is in cahoots with Battistelli in this affair.

It would be very surprising if the mayor was not fully briefed about the planning and preparation for such a major event which is likely to bring a significant influx of revenue to the town.

"As a lawyer registered with the French and US bar associations he can also be expected to appreciate the need for discretion especially where large sums of money are at stake."Péricard is another seasoned local political operator whose father headed the municipal council as mayor for 22 years from 1977 to 1999. He is also reputed to be a close political associate of Battistelli. As a lawyer registered with the French and US bar associations he can also be expected to appreciate the need for discretion especially where large sums of money are at stake.

Perhaps this goes some way towards explaining the lack of publicity for the event in the "Journal de Saint-Germain" and the remarkable absence of any publicly accessible documentation in the municipal council archives?

But as they say in French: Honi soit qui mal y pense... (Shame on him who thinks evil of it...)

Recent Techrights' Posts

New Techrights Turns 2
Today starts the third year of the SSG-based Techrights
What Scares Them the Most is Independent News Sites That They Cannot Control and Censor
Wikileaks was a good example of this
If You Don't Control Your Online Platform, Then Someone Else is Controlling You
be (or become) independent
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Has a Policy on Racism and Sexism
In then future we'll show the misogyny and racial slurs
Links 22/09/2025: Murdochs Might Join Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Investors' (Masters), United Kingdom Recognises Palestinian Statehood
Links for the day
The 50-Pound Note Experiment and the "War on Cash"
Britain is actually seeing a rebound in cash payments, and it's not a temporary phenomenon
 
MAHA is a Lie, Public Officials Never Valued Citizens' Health (They Still Value Private Businesses, Their Sponsors)
Reject demagogues
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has a New Press Kit for the Weekend After Next Weekend (40th Anniversary)
miles better than social [sic] media [sic] quips, moderated by narcissists and oil tycoons.
Microsoft Had Two Waves of Mass Layoffs This Month (That We Know of) and It'll Get Worse for Microsoft Soon
Will the axe fall again by month's end?
Gemini Links 23/09/2025: Happy Equinox, Photronic Arts, and Perception Cognition
Links for the day
Lessons We've Learned After 17 Years of American Hosting
GAFAM is "all-in" with the "Trump agenda"
Back to Normal Now, We Plan to Do More In-Depth Series (or Multi-part Stories)
Articles (or series thereof) that contain philosophy are important to us
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 22, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 22, 2025
Microsoft Media is Panicking Amid Mass Layoffs Every Month, H-1B Fees, and "Seattle’s Tech Scene in Trouble"
In "late stage Microsoft", copyleft becomes proprietary
The Next Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs Being Discussed Already
Red Hat is sort of disappearing the way Tivoli did
Oracle Started This Year With Slop. Then It Stopped.
Passing fads are like this
Distros That Run on PCs Made 20 Years Ago and Don't Use Systemd
Betas for now
The Complaint About Brett Wilson LLP - Part I - Abusing British Women on Behalf of American Men Who Abuse American Women
Transparency is important to us, so we've decided to make this series
Slopwatch: Google News and the Evident Slopfarm Infestation
This is what people get about Linux when they query Google for Linux
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Esperanto Music History and Apps For Android
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: More American 'Censorship' (Retaliation for Journalism), Cheeto "Might Be Losing His Race Against Time"
Links for the day
The Blob Slop
Give me more words, give me some text
Slopwatch: Blaming the Victims for Microsoft's Failures and Plagiarising Phoronix
That's what Google has been reduced to: slop and slopfarms
Links 22/09/2025: Breaches, Windows TCO, and Arrests
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Rabbit Hole and DeGoogling Fairphone
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: Russian War Planes Invade NATO Airspace While Dihydroxyacetone Man Escalates Attack on Free Speech Because of Critics
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 21, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025