French Conservatoire director is jailed for corruption
mainPhilippe Lesburguères, former head of the Conservatoire of Toulon-Provence-Méditerranée, has been jailed in France for 18 months. He was found guilty of accepting expense-paid trips to China and Thailand in exchange for the admission of Chinese students to his school. Two Chinese nationals were also convicted. At the time of Lesburguères’ arrest, the provincial Conservatoire had 47 Chinese students.
Lesburguères was also an active conductor.
Don’t forget: In France, you are not guilty of committing crimes; you are guilty of getting caught. Unsurprisingly, this arrest doesn’t appear to have been reported in the French national media. It reminds me of a French opera boss who was quite recently found guilty of having sex with underage boys in Morocco. He’s still in office. Needless to say, I didn’t read about it in the French press…
There are reports in Var Matin and La Provence. Nothing national, just local scandal, easily forgotten.