New Paris hall went 300 percent over budget

New Paris hall went 300 percent over budget

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norman lebrecht

September 26, 2016

There has been a savage public accounts report on the Philharmonie de Paris, accusing practically everyone involved of gross negligence in the management of public finds.

The hall, budgeted at 173.1 million Euros in 2006, came out at a final cost of 534.7 million.

Since this is France, no-one gets fired.

Report here.

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Comments

  • Robert Holmén says:

    While still egregious, that is really just slightly more than 200% “over budget”, not 300%.

  • Laurent says:

    Not only will nobody get fired, there will be absolutely no individual, or individuals deemed responsible for this wanton use of public funds. All will be blamed on a political party and the individuals responsible for such gross negligence and disrespect of the public purse will remain in their jobs and most probably, in order to remove them from the centre of ridicule, by those in the know and in power, they most likely will be promoted, given a pay increase and shipped off to some other public position where they can continue their robbery of public funds, this time most likely to enjoy themselves. France is so full of these characters that one loses count. Many can today be found in diplomatic posts around the world, as cultural attaches or directors of French culture centres internationally. So many of them can’t even speak the language of the country that they are posted to, let alone understandable English. I’m sure that when Rome was in its last stages of decadence and demise things were similar.

    • John Borstlap says:

      But maybe all this is merely a very old tradition, picked-up after 1789 from the old régime. The decadent aristocrats lost their head in the French revolution, but the emptiness of the skulls may have been contageous ever after.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Museart says:

    It’s not great but probably okay. Hamburg, alwaysproud of being a traditional merchant city, sold their taxpayers that the Elbphilharmonie will cost them only 27 million Euro and that 50 million euro will be funded additionaly privately. The costs as know per today are now ten times higher: 789 million Euro…

  • John Borstlap says:

    It has been very dificult to give the building the shape of a crashed space ship:

    http://www.11h45.com/portfolio/ateliers-jean-nouvel-la-philarmonie-de-paris-part-1/

    All in a desperate effort to avoid anything looking like a concetn hall. That is where all the extras went.

    • jaypee says:

      Do your comments have any purpose or are you paid per word?
      Do you seriously think that anyone cares anymore for your “enlightened view”?
      You’re so predictable that you’re not even funny anymore. You’re just predictable and boring. Terribly boring.

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