{"id":388,"date":"2017-03-24T18:13:11","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T22:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/pariscasestudy\/?p=388"},"modified":"2017-04-05T22:51:14","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T02:51:14","slug":"the-different-lives-of-catherine-pegard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/pariscasestudy\/2017\/03\/24\/the-different-lives-of-catherine-pegard\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Lives of Catherine P\u00e9gard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catherine P\u00e9gard has inhabited three distinct worlds. She has been a journalist, a political advisor, and is now the current president of Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles. One would think these worlds would overlap, or that the boundaries between them would start to dissolve. Instead, P\u00e9gard\u2019s ability to keep these worlds separate in her mind is one of her greatest strengths.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn France, we aren\u2019t used to having different lives,\u201d said Catherine P\u00e9gard in an interview on Thursday. \u201cBut I\u2019m very lucky,\u201d she continued. \u201cThis is my third.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Any one of P\u00e9gard’s three careers would be enough for most high-achieving people. But for P\u00e9gard, one of the most important and visible women in French politics and journalism, one life was not enough. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0P\u00e9gard\u00a0<\/span>quickly rose to positions of power as a young journalist.\u00a0<\/span>She started writing for the French political newsmagazine\u00a0The Point\u00a0<\/i>in 1982, covering politics. In 1995, she became the editor of the paper.\u00a0While she was a young working journalist, she met the young French politician named Nicolas Sarkozy. This meeting would lead to another big break; soon after Sarkozy became president in 2007, he hired P\u00e9gard to be his political advisor. <\/span><\/p>\n

P\u00e9gard said yes, and gave up journalism forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

The move from the world of politics to the world of journalism was bizarre by French standards, and also for P\u00e9gard herself. P\u00e9gard had spent much of her life covering French politics, only to suddenly find herself an important political figure. \u201cIt is most difficult to know what to do on the other side,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The French were not used to a journalist who would leave journalism for another high profile career, let alone a career that would transform her into the kind of politician she\u2019d written about for years. \u201cI was creating myself at the same time during it, living it,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though her career path was unconventional, having access to both backgrounds proved useful in P\u00e9gard\u2019s political career. More than anything, it seems to have given P\u00e9gard context for understanding both worlds, as well as where they align, and where they conflict. P\u00e9gard disagrees with journalists who say that if they spend enough time with politicians they are covering, they will take on too much of their influence. \u201cI think that is stupid,\u201d P\u00e9gard says. \u201cThat means they are weak!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Weakness, according to P\u00e9gard, seems to be defined as permeability to the influence of others. Strength means strong self-awareness, and distinct boundaries around what you believe. \u201cIf you are strong enough,\u201d she clarifies, \u201cyou can hit with anybody, and say what you want. You must know what you want. You must know what you are. You must know what they are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At 63, the Le Havre-born Catherine P\u00e9gard knows who she is, even if that means she needs to intensely compartmentalize her life. As P\u00e9gard constructed her identity as a journalist-turned-politician, she was careful to keep her new career distinct from her new one. When she became Sarkozy\u2019s political advisor, she asked not to be involved in the press. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy not to be a journalist,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

P\u00e9gard succeeded in keeping the boundaries distinct between her old life and her new one, even if this task proved challenging. \u201cShe was correct, and very strict,\u201d said Elaine Sciolino, former Paris bureau chief for the New York\u00a0<\/span>Times<\/span><\/i>\u00a0and current Princeton professor. \u201cOnce she went to work for the government, she became loyal to the government. She was always correct with us [journalists].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Though P\u00e9gard felt like an outsider as a former journalist in the world of French politics, her next job would be equally unexpected. When she became the president of Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles in 2011, P\u00e9gard did not have any curatorial experience. Yet that did not mean she was unprepared. <\/span><\/p>\n

President of Versailles is a political position. She received her job as a presidential appointment in 2011, but performed so well in the role that she managed to keep her job after her five-year mandate finished; \u00a0Hollande, Sarkozy\u2019s successor and rival, chose her to continue. <\/span><\/p>\n

P\u00e9gard also cites her journalistic career as a helpful background for her job at Versailles. As P\u00e9gard\u2019s journalism career informed her political one, it has continued to inform her post at Versailles. Journalism taught her the importance of honesty and staying true to her story, and provided her the toolkit to be a successful president of Versailles. \u201cYou need to be a journalist to be here,\u201d P\u00e9gard said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Each of Catherine P\u00e9gard\u2019s previous jobs has helped her with her subsequent positions, so long as she has been able to keep them separate in her mind. This trend seems like it will continue, as Versailles attempts to adapt to the new media environment. Just as journalists must now know several different jobs to be successful, including television and video in addition to storytelling, Catherine P\u00e9gard\u2019s position now requires her to engage with the modern world. She has done so in the same way as many modernizing media companies: by utilizing the storytelling power of Twitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do tweets at Versailles,\u201d she said, grinning. \u201cI am very proud of it. Now I tweet every day!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catherine P\u00e9gard has inhabited three distinct worlds. She has been a journalist, a political advisor, and is now the current president of Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles. One would think these worlds would overlap, or that the boundaries between them would start to dissolve. Instead, P\u00e9gard\u2019s ability to keep these worlds separate in her mind is one … <\/p>\n

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