At the court of the Sun King, the height of refinement was to be invited to receptions at the Château de Marly, the private residence of Louis XIV northwest of Versailles. In the fashionable Paris of 2022, the consecration would instead fit in a golden color-coded PDF file, in which the groups of words “qatarairways” and “dress code casual chic-business” appear in capital letters. “Mr. Nasser al-Khelaïfi, President of Paris Saint-Germain, is happy to count you among his guests at Le Carré”, can we read in the introduction to this letter patente 2.0 The precious document gives the right to visit the holy of holies: the VIP area of the Parc des Princes, the stadium of the Parisian football club.
This symbolic power to decide “who is in it” in the French capital could alone justify the sum of 1.5 billion euros spent on player transfers since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the company controlled by the wealthy emirate , bought the club in 2011. Because, by bringing together a group of prominent artists, businessmen and politicians at each match, QSI has established itself as the entity that must be courted if you want to count in Paris . This position benefits its owners, so the grandstand could easily be called a true Qatari embassy in France. A place as glamorous as strategic where the granting of the World Cup to the small gas state has never suffered from the slightest serious challenge. “I am one of those who consider it an eminently political showcase. The Qataris make no allusion, but obviously the influence is there, diplomatic too”, comments journalist Charles Villeneuve, ex-president of PSG and regular at the famous grandstand.
Natalie Portman and Kendrick Lamar in the Square
Is there another place in France likely to generate pages in Gala such as facilitating deals that will be reported The echoes ? To bring Cyril Hanouna and Manuel Valls, comedian Kev Adams and CEO Sébastien Bazin, Dj Snake and lawyer Francis Szpiner together? Of course, officially, we only watch a game there. “Personally, I only come for the football”, specifies Hervé Morin, president of the Normandy region and former Minister of Defence, in unison with the vast majority of the guests. However, it is impossible to completely ignore the Very Important Persons. If they weren’t there, the Carré would look like an ordinary presidential tribune. “We always find the same people there, continues Hervé Morin, that is to say the French nomenklatura. Athletes, politicians, celebrities. We know each other, we greet each other.” This season, actress Natalie Portman or rapper Kendrick Lamar have already been spotted there admiring the exploits of Neymar, Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappé. Like before them Rihanna, Beyoncé, Mick Jagger or Michael Jordan. On big match nights, the cast has nothing to envy to the Cannes Film Festival, and the politicians on top of that. “I remember a PSG-Real Madrid with Anne Hidalgo, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, Edouard Philippe. In these cases, everyone greets each other”, says Arnaud Péricard, the mayor of Saint-Germain- en-Laye, permanent guest as city councilor of the other founding city of the club.
Paying is not enough to rub shoulders with the elite. There are boxes specifically designed for wealthy fans, such as the captains’ area, the very popular Star Club or the very chic Galerie, for sums ranging from 4,000 to 28,000 euros per year. There are also the sponsors’ lounges, in particular those of Nike, American Express or Huawei, granted against a check for 200,000 euros to 450,000 euros per season. The Carré VIP is something else. To integrate it, you have to be invited, as in any self-respecting private company. At PSG, the decision comes from one man, Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the president, also minister without portfolio of the emirate of Qatar. From 2014 to 2020, Adel Aref, one of his long-time friends, takes care full-time of bringing in personalities who will give a good image to the club. On Champions League evenings, he sometimes receives more than 1,000 VIP requests… for only 224 places, not one more. Some figures are offended, like Enrico Macias, yet author of the tube Give me, tired of having to beg for access. “Football is soft power, and the Carré is the soft power of the management of PSG”, observes Pascal Cherki, former deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sports.
“We exchange politics”
PSG also uses this space to thank or impress potential sponsors. “If we want to partner with a new brand, we will bring its leaders to the best place to present our product. It makes sense, right?” slips a source from the club’s management. In this open-air Automobile Club – accessible to rappers and Miss France, everything is done to make the guest feel special. We are welcomed there an hour and a half before the start of the match, three cocktails are offered in the lounges, before, at half-time, and after the match. It is during these discreet asides that unexpected relationships can be formed. The singer Grégory Bakian got on well with Pierre Sarkozy, the son of the former president, while Charles Villeneuve has already conversed there with the artist Maître Gims. “It’s like a living room, we exchange politics, the economy, current events … And football, obviously, we don’t just talk about business”, smiles the former executive of the TF1 group.
This joyous mix of genres has accompanied PSG since its creation. Jean-Paul Belmondo sponsored the first call for donations in 1970, while fashion designer Daniel Hechter and publicist Francis Borelli took the lead of the “gang of pink shirts”, a band of trendy entrepreneurs who invested in the club. Under the Canal+ era, between 1991 and 2006, the management of the Corbeille became more professional. Valérie de la Rochebrochard, director of public relations for the encrypted channel, is responsible for constituting the panels: “This period gave me my network for life. La Corbeille is a rare place for lobbying”, believes- she. On April 1, she split a flattering little hoax that the president of PSG, Michel Denisot, takes … very seriously: “I had made a fake list for fun, with Lady Di and her sons, Margaret Thatcher … Denisot said: “Ah good? Are all four coming?” It was so funny,” she recalls.
Sarkozy deprived of first half
Upon his arrival at PSG, Qatar put in place some additional rules. Within the Carré, the outfit “jacket, shirt and town shoes” is “compulsory”. One game night, swimmer Amaury Leveaux, Olympic champion, was refused entry because he was wearing sneakers. In 2016, during a PSG-Lille match, Nicolas Sarkozy was forced to follow the first half from the living rooms… because he arrived more than ten minutes late. Precepts that tend to be lost today, according to Grégory Bakian: “With the advent of urban music, the looks are quite different. The dress code is less respected.”
More embarrassing for the club, a traffic of squares seems to have been set up for several years. According to an investigation summary co-signed by the General Directorate of Internal Security and the General Inspectorate of the National Police, revealed by Release and of which L’Express has also become aware, police officers were offered places within the VIP area of the PSG … through illegal private intelligence activities. Initiatives taken by a lobbyist and an employee of the club, without the approval of Nasser, swear today the PSG. “There has long been no structure around invitations to Le Carré. There were a lot of impulsive decisions. But now we are much more structured”, assures a source within the management, hand on heart. The reputation of the president…and the owner, Qatar, is at stake.