The text, the initiative of which belongs to the centrist senator Catherine Morin-Desailly, intends to breathe new life into the market for voluntary sales at public auction.
He began his parliamentary career in October 2019.
"Thanks to this text, a new wind of freedom will come to blow on a sector of activity whose weight in the French economy is not negligible and which also contributes to the cultural influence of our country", welcomed the rapporteur. Catherine Belrhiti (LR).
Ranked first in the world in the art market in the 1950s, including for the volume of auctions, France is now only in fourth place, far behind the United States, the United Kingdom and now China.
The first two "houses" on the French market are Anglo-Saxon (Sotheby's and Christies), the first French, Artcurial, coming in 3rd position, according to figures from 2018.
To succeed in regaining ground, the text proposes to reform the composition, operation and missions of the "Council for voluntary sales of furniture at public auctions", a public utility institution responsible for regulating the market, deemed "too far from the realities and transformations of the sector".
It would become the "Council of auction houses" (CMV), composed mainly of professionals and supposed to be more focused on the needs of the profession, buyers and sellers.
The text also plans to restore the attractiveness of this sector by restoring the "historic title" of auctioneer, dating from the 18th century, replaced in 2011 by the more complicated name of "voluntary sales auctioneer".
More concretely, a series of articles broadens the activities of these sales professionals in order to "boost" their activity.
In particular, they will be able to carry out tax inventories, like notaries, and the voluntary sales regime will be extended to "intangible movables", such as goodwill.
The formalities for over-the-counter sales will be simplified.
"The reform does not constitute a revolution, but will give a boost to French auction houses, broadening their activity, arming them better in the face of international competition, the challenge of digitization, and the risks of market concentration", underlined Ms. Morin-Desailly.
© 2022 AFP