France, Catherine Pégard is the new minister of culture

France has a new culture minister: she is Catherine Pégard, who succeeds Rachida Dati. The former minister resigned to join the race for the Paris municipal elections. Pégard’s appointment came yesterday, Feb. 26, 2026, when she was asked to join the Lecornu-led government in the second executive headed by the premier. Born Aug. 5, 1954, in Le Havre, Catherine Pégard is a political journalist and cultural executive with a career path spanning more than four decades of French public life. The only child of a longtime captain, she took her first steps in journalism as early as her high school days. After studies in history and political science, she launched her career in 1977 at the newspaper J’informe. Between 1978 and 1982 he joined the political service of the Quotidien de Paris, where he consolidated his specialization in the analysis of institutional and parliamentary life. The breakthrough came in 1982 when he joined Le Point magazine, one of the leading French news outlets. There he initially worked as a journalist in the political service, following in particular the area of the parliamentary right. Over the years he took on roles of increasing responsibility. At Le Point he signs a weekly political bloc-notes fed by information gathered behind the scenes of the institutional scene. In May 2007 she left Le Point to be appointed adviser to the president of the Republic in the first days of Nicolas Sarkozy’s inauguration at the Elysée. The decision to name a prominent journalist, editor-in-chief of a major weekly, stirred controversy and fueled debate over the appropriateness of the direct transition from information to the heart of executive power. With no declared political label, from mid-March 2008 she assumed the leadership of the new political pole created at the presidency, joining the small group of the head of state’s closest aides.

At the Elysée he later also took charge of cultural dossiers, gradually expanding his scope beyond the narrow political dimension. This institutional experience represents a decisive step in her career, which will lead her in 2011 to the leadership of one of the country’s most prestigious cultural institutions. In fact, on August 31, 2011, she was appointed president of the Établissement public du château, du musée et du domaine national de Versailles: the appointment of a political journalist at the head of the Château de Versailles was criticized by some heritage professionals, who complained about the lack of specific experience in managing a cultural administration, and by political commentators who spoke of a choice linked to presidential will. However, despite the initial controversy, Pégard remains at the head of the Château for more than 12 years, until March 2024.

In September 2024, she joins Afalula, the French agency co-managing the Al-Ula Nabataean necropolis development project in Saudi Arabia, as director of cultural development. This is a brief assignment before returning to the Elysee Palace in September 2025 as culture advisor to President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.

Her appointment as minister of culture in February 2026 thus represents her landing a top political role after a path weaving journalism, presidential advice, and leadership of major cultural institutions. Succeeding Rachida Dati, Pégard assumes responsibility for a ministry central to France’s identity and international projection, at a time when cultural policies are confronted with the challenges of digital transition, heritage funding, and support for contemporary creation.

France, Catherine Pégard is the new minister of culture

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