France's Conseil d'État (Council of State) issued a landmark ruling on April 3, 1936, in the case of sculptor Raymond Sudre versus the commune of Baixas. Sudre's monumental fountain sculpture "La Catalane" (1909) had been severely damaged by children, used as a fireworks platform, and eventually demolished by the mayor after its head broke off. Sudre sought compensation for moral rights infringement, and after lower courts declared themselves incompetent, the Conseil d'État affirmed that the dispute fell under administrative jurisdiction because it involved failure to maintain a public work. The case was sent back to the Montpellier prefectural council, which ordered the commune to indemnify Sudre on December 9, 1936.
This ruling, known as the "Sudre" decision, established for the first time that public entities owning artworks are legally obligated to preserve them "in their original state" or at least "in good condition." It created a foundational principle in French administrative law linking public art ownership to a duty of conservation, protecting artists' moral rights against neglect or destruction by state or municipal owners. The precedent was later refined by the 2006 "Agopyan" ruling, which allowed some alterations to artworks if justified, but the core obligation remains a key protection for artists and their legacies in France.