Boulogne wins against Partouche after 6 years
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17 Dec 2025 •
Reading time: 4 minutes After six years of legal proceedings and judicial twists and turns, the Boulogne-sur-Mer casino case is finally coming to an end. The Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, has ruled that the town has won its case against the Partouche group.
The origins of a long-running dispute
For thirty-three years, the Boulogne-sur-Mer casino was operated by the Partouche group. This long collaboration was part of a public service delegation agreement, renewed periodically by the municipality. But in 2019, when the contract expires, the city has decided to change course. Following a call for tenders, the concession was awarded to a competitor, the Belgian group Golden Palace, for a period running until 2031.
This decision marked a clear break with the incumbent operator. For Partouche Immobilier, the company that owned the building housing the casino and had signed a lease running until 2035, the decision had far-reaching consequences. The company felt it had suffered major economic damage and decided to take the matter to the administrative courts.
The proceedings brought by Partouche Immobilier have several aims. Firstly, to overturn the town council’s decision to terminate the agreement for temporary occupation of the public domain. Secondly, to obtain substantial compensation. The group is claiming nearly €13 million, citing economic loss due to the anticipated loss of business.
Behind these amounts lies a central question: the legal nature of the casino building. Is it an asset belonging to the private operator or a ‘return asset’, destined to revert to the local authority at the end of the contract? This question will be at the heart of debates for several years.
An initial decision, followed by legal escalation
On 6 July 2021, the Lille Administrative Court handed down its first decision. It partially accepted Partouche Immobilier’s arguments and ordered the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer to pay €1.9 million. This sum corresponds to the net book value of the property, a principle applied when this type of contract is terminated before its term.
At the time, the mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Frédéric Cuvillier, accepted this estimate. But for the Partouche group, this decision was far from satisfactory. The company lodged an appeal and significantly increased its claims.
Before the Douai Administrative Court of Appeal, the casino operator is now claiming almost €20 million. The calculation includes not only the loss of earnings due to the loss of business, but also the rents received by the city under the new contract with Golden Palace.
The turning point in 2025
2 April 2025 marked a major turning point in this case. The Douai Administrative Court of Appeal rejected all of Partouche Immobilier’s claims. It was a clear decision that supported the position of the local authority and invalidated the group’s financial claims.
Refusing to stop there, Partouche then considered appealing to the Supreme Court. The case ended up before the Conseil d’État, the last possible recourse in the administrative system. The question is simple but decisive: will the highest court agree to examine the case once again?
The answer comes this Thursday. The Conseil d’État rejected the appeal. This decision implicitly validates the Douai ruling and puts an end to the proceedings.
The municipality’s relief
For the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, this refusal marks the end of a long and costly dispute, both financially and politically. In a press release, the mayor, Frédéric Cuvillier, does not hide his relief and insists on the legal significance of the judgement.
This recognition of the public nature of the building is crucial. It means that the city was within its rights in recovering the use of the casino and entrusting its operation to a new operator.
The Conseil d’Etat’s decision in the Boulonnais case echoes another case also involving the Partouche group: that of the Berck casino. Although the two cases are often compared, they have different legal bases.
In Boulogne-sur-Mer, the dispute essentially concerned the termination of the lease and its economic consequences. In Berck, the dispute directly concerned the ownership of the building. Here too, the Conseil d’État ruled in favour of the municipality on 17 July. The highest court ruled that the building was a repossessed asset, which would become the property of the town on 1 January 2026.
However, unlike the case in Boulogne, the Berck case is not completely closed. The Partouche company has applied to the interim relief judge, which has had the effect of freezing the notarial deeds pending a new court decision.