In Paris, the Gainsbourg house placed in receivership

How can a place, which is fully booked until the end of 2024, be in receivership? On September 18, the site The Informed revealed that the Gainsbourg house, located rue de Verneuil (7th arrondissement), was placed in receivership by the Paris commercial court. Open since September 20, 2023, the place has generated 4 million euros in turnover, pays its expenses and is profitable in its first year of operation. The problem would come from one of the investors…

A place labeled House of the Illustrious by the Ministry of Culture

« There is no reason for the museum and the house to close, we remain open and we will continue to develop », assures AFP Lorraine Dauchez, the president of Arteum, the company mandated to manage these two places. In addition, 800,000 euros from the Île-de-France region and 45,000 euros from the National Music Center helped finance the work on the venue. The Minister of Culture Rachida Dati also gave the site the Maison des illustrious label.

However, a conflict does exist between Chalotte Gainsbourg, the artist’s daughter, and her partner Dominique Dutreix, businessman and real estate developer. Both have the same rights and own 50% of the capital of the Gainsbourg house, the museum and the Gainsbarre, a bar-restaurant adjoining the house. Charlotte Gainsbourg criticizes Dominique Dutreix for not having kept her commitments made in writing, that is to say not having financed the opening “ either in own funds or with working capital, set up exclusively by Dominique Dutreix ”, reports “ The Parisian ».

A conviction of Dominique Dutreix last spring

The debt would therefore be old and date from the start of the project. “ As soon as the funds arrived, Dominique Dutreix reimbursed himself twice half a million euros, explains Jean Aittouares, lawyer for Charlotte Gainsbourg at “ Figaro » this Saturday, October 5. Once on a personal basis, the other for his group. With reduced cash flow, the company found itself short of cash by the end of 2022. » Last spring, the president of the commercial court ordered Dominique Dutreix to replenish the coffers of the venue management company by 1.5 million euros.

1,6 million d’euros

Today, the total amount of this debt amounts to 1.6 million euros, an amount that Charlotte Gainsbourg is unlikely to be able to pay in full. Negotiations are said to be underway with the provisional administrator. to spread the receivables over eight years ». « We will initiate civil and criminal liability action for misuse of corporate assets, announces Me Aittouarès at “ Parisian ». My client could not know what was happening because the headquarters of their joint company is with Mr. Dutreix. He therefore received all the bank alerts, without ever speaking to his partner. But thanks to the procedures initiated, and to the judicial administrator, he can no longer do any harm. »
30 years since the death of Serge Gainsbourg: “He was provocative, sometimes too much. But he was free.