Marseille's Mucem President Accused of Sexual Harassment and Favoritism in Inspector's Report
A watchdog report has accused the president of the Mucem, Marseille's flagship museum of European and Mediterranean civilisations, of sexual harassment and favouritism, escalating a legal case that began months earlier.
The report, issued by France's Inspection générale des affaires culturelles — the internal inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture — denounces "practices of sexual harassment and favouritism" at the museum, according to Le Monde. It says those practices put the institution itself at risk, as reported by ARTnews on 21 August 2026 (ARTnews).
The accused is Pierre-Olivier Costa, appointed by presidential decree to lead the Mucem — formally the Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée. He chairs both its Board of Directors and its Scientific Advisory Board, according to the museum's own governance page.
The Marseille prosecutor's office has broadened its investigations against Costa in response to the inspectorate's findings, Le Monde reported. An initial investigation for sexual and moral harassment had already been opened in April 2026, according to the French art trade publication Le Quotidien de l'Art (Le Quotidien de l'Art).
Costa was suspended from his role on 1 July 2026 — at his own request and on a precautionary basis, the French Ministry of Culture announced the day before. The ministry's statement framed the suspension as a standard protective measure while investigations proceed, not a finding of guilt.
The Mucem, opened in 2013 on a renovated harbour-front site at the entrance to Marseille's old port, is one of France's most visited cultural institutions outside Paris. It holds collections spanning anthropology, history and archaeology of the Mediterranean region. A leadership crisis there carries weight well beyond one person's career.
For now, the investigation continues. The inspectorate's report has been handed to prosecutors, and no charges have been formally brought. Costa has not publicly responded to the specific allegations in the report.
