It’s probably fair to say that the president of France’s National Antique Dealers Federation (Syndicat National des Antiquaires) Christian Deydier didn’t see this one coming. On Monday 28, he turned up to a board meeting meant to iron out a minor issue relating to the federation’s status, the Quotidien de l’Art reports. By the end of the meeting, he’d been sacked.

What exactly the president is accused of remains unclear. A press release quoted by QdA mentions “important dysfunctions” within the federation, “financial and contractual commitments taken by the president without consulting the board,” as well as a bullying attitude preventing “a calm and enlightened dialogue.”

Although extraordinarily elusive, these seem to point towards long-standing internal disagreements. And one can only speculate that they must have important enough to push the board to act, even in the crucial period leading up to the Biennale des Antiquaires, France’s answer to TEFAF, held from September 11–21 this year.

A specialist in Asian bronze, Deydier claims that his eviction is illegal as it wasn’t on the board meeting’s agenda that day. While the SNA has announced it will soon nominate an interim president, the ousted Deydier maintains that the board has first to meet to confirm whether or not he has indeed been dismissed.