The company behind a museum devoted to Serge Gainsbourg, one of France's most loved - and notorious - musicians, has gone into receivership barely a year after it opened, according to court rulings.
Reservations are booked through to the end of the year to visit the singer's home on Paris' Left Bank, immaculately preserved with Gainsbourg's weird and wonderful bric-a-brac, exactly as he left it when he died in 1991.
But issues including unpaid bills and legal disputes have dogged Maison Gainsbourg, according to an investigation carried out by a French news site, L'Informé.
Two days before its one-year anniversary on 20 September, the Paris commercial court put SEHPSGA, the company behind the project, in receivership over unpaid bills.
A court-appointed manager will now oversee the company in a bid to avoid bankruptcy.
"The company is profitable," said a lawyer for the French icon's daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the film and music star who is one of the project partners.
"But it has accumulated an old debt linked to its start-up and it cannot meet this short-term debt," Jean Aittouares told AFP, dismissing claims that Maison Gainsbourg would close.
This is not the first time Maison Gainsbourg has been embroiled in controversy.
Following a legal dispute between co-partners Charlotte Gainsbourg and the property developer Dominique Dutreix in March 2023, a court found evidence of financial irregularities and that Dutreix had breached French commercial law.
Moreover, the Paris commercial court said there were outstanding payments of around €1.6 million to suppliers, including for security, cleaning, and the electricity bill. Dutreix was ordered to reimburse €1.5 million.
The case changes things, said lawyer Jean Aittouares on behalf of his client Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Dominique Dutreix's lawyer had no further comment when contacted by AFP.
Despite the turmoil, Maison Gainsbourg is fully booked through to the end of the year.
Source: AFP
