The court has blocked a controversial transaction between a city and a luxury empire

An administrative court in Orleans has ruled to annul the sale of the name of the city of Vendôme to Louis Vuitton, part of the LVMH group, for 10,000 euros, intended to market the fashion house's jewelry. The agreement, approved in February 2021 by the local council, provided for the transfer of the "Vendôme" brand for a period of 10 years, exclusively for jewelry products. The idea was to capitalize on the reputation of the town - located in the heart of France and symbolically associated with French elegance - for the benefit of a well-known global luxury brand. Mayor Laurent Brillard declared at the time that "the city is not selling its name, but only allows the use of the term Vendôme in the context of a jewelry collection".

• The transaction price, the bone of contention

The decision to sell was challenged by a local association, which considered the sum of 10,000 euros to be derisory for the rights to use a name with significant patrimonial and cultural value. The court confirmed that, although the brand could be legally transferred, the municipality had not provided sufficient justification for setting the price. In its reasoning for the sentence, the court stressed that it was "impossible to verify the methods of calculating the amount” proposed. Thus, the sale was annulled on grounds of excess of power in the municipal council's decision of February 4, 2021.

• The Vendôme case, between symbol and legal precedent

For local authorities, the process is perceived as a symbolic battle rather than a legal one. In a statement, city hall representatives said they regretted "an appeal without real legal utility,” recalling that the National Institute for Intellectual Property (INPI) had already rejected, in July 2022, Louis Vuitton's application to register the "Vendôme” trademark. Therefore, even without the court's decision, the transaction had become de facto null and void. However, the case raises questions about the commercial limits of local heritage and the exploitation of identity symbols for private purposes.

The Vendôme case is part of a wider series of disputes regarding the use of geographical names and local symbols by private companies. In a global context in which luxury brands seek to capitalize on authenticity and tradition, cities with famous names are becoming brands in their own right. The decision of the Orleans court could be invoked in the future as a precedent, establishing that local authorities must rigorously justify the economic value of the intangible assets they transfer.