The month of June is here, the sun is at the rendezvous but the tennis rackets are still not back in the Luxembourg Garden (VIe), and the sound of yellow balls is not about to be heard again. This is the umpteenth twist in this legal battle led since 2016 by Hervé Picard, CEO of Paris Tennis.
Last April, he appealed to the administrative court following the tender won by the company Vaziva. Hervé Picard contested the competitive tendering procedure and denounced irregularities in treatment between the various candidates. In an order dated Thursday, the judge of the administrative court of Paris "considers that the Senate has not provided modalities for examining offers guaranteeing equal treatment of candidates and transparency of the procedure".
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"The annulment pronounced by this decision necessarily implies that the Senate resumes the award procedure at the stage of the notice of public call for competition if it intends to award the service concession. However, he is not required to resume the procedure," the eight-page document reads.
'A tsunami of complaints'
In addition, the Senate is ordered to pay 2,000 euros to Paris Tennis in respect of the costs incurred. "It's a surprise! assures Hervé Picard. The administrative court annuls very few decisions. Knowing that it is the Senate that makes the law, it means that they have tampered with the call for tenders, that there has been favoritism, "he scolds.
Today, two solutions are available to senators: take care of the management of the courts themselves via the guardians of the garden, or relaunch a new call for tenders. "It's an unlikely situation for them knowing that they have 5,000 licensees waiting, can you imagine? They receive a tsunami of complaints from people waiting for the reopening. And now until a new tender is launched, tennis will not reopen until the fall," he predicts. When contacted, the Senate "does not comment on this court decision".
