Marseille Museum President Accused of Sexual Misconduct
The president of Marseille's Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (MuCEM), Pierre-Olivier Costa, has been accused of sexual and moral harassment by a scathing report from French government investigators.
The report, published by Le Monde, accuses Costa of breaching rules for granting public contracts, and putting the southern French city's only national museum "at risk". The investigation also names the museum's managing director, Véronique Haché, in related allegations of misconduct.
The much-anticipated investigation identifies numerous breaches by the management of their ethical obligations, including remarks of a sexual, sexist, or degrading nature, inappropriate behavior by the president, intrusions into private life, suspicions of favoritism in hiring and salary policies, and disloyalty to the supervising authority.
A staff protest in June 2024 and an open letter signed by 79 Mucem staffers decrying a toxic workplace, including "rising pressure and threats", were earlier signs of problems.
According to the IGAC report, a former Mucem worker filed a formal complaint for sexual and moral harassment by Costa, stating that Costa repeatedly made explicit propositions to him on the evening of August 8, 2025. Other employees said they witnessed Costa's "inappropriate behavior" toward the same worker. A second, former Mucem employee, said they experienced something similar, stating: Costa "made sexual propositions to me, like oral sex, it happened a thousand times … I pushed him away by making jokes about it."
Costa has denied all wrongdoing, stating "I don't speak to people in that manner." He also expressed "full confidence" in the ongoing judicial investigation by Marseille's judicial system.
The report also accuses Costa of breaching fair competition regulations by granting several contracts to individuals and/or companies while also spending well beyond budgeted limits on at least two occasions. These include contracts granted at inflated costs to Bastien Baudoin, the head of the consultancy firm Tyrex Conseil, and the company Ludoparc, for the building of a children's playground.
The IGAC report describes "a president regarded as untouchable as he is incompetent, and an inner circle that is likewise not very competent and failing in its role as a safeguard."
The report recommends launching disciplinary proceedings against Costa and the general manager, Haché.
