Two weeks ago, the tenant of rue de Valois initiated a double mission relating to the Pass: in a budgetary context of restrictions, this tool inspired by the Bonus Cultura of Matteo Renzi, Italian Prime Minister, proposed in 2016 in the Bel paese. Candidate Macron took it up for his 2017 presidential candidacy, making the Culture Pass one of the pillars of his cultural policy…
Times change, tomorrows disappoint…
Now at the end of 2024, Rachida Dati is considering a reform of the system, accompanied by two express missions: the first concerns the opening of Pass credits to performing arts, the second on the contribution to the book sector. Two subjects for which data already exists: why this rush, especially since the conclusions are expected by mid-December?
Three professional organizations ask the same question: in Ouest France, a forum co-signed by the National Publishing Union, the French Bookstore Union and the Permanent Council of Writers, everyone is worried “ a real break with the spirit of the project“. Nothing prevents evolution, but as it stands, what do we want to reform from a tool that works well?
And to cite the 2024 study by the National Book Center, pointing to a drop in reading activity among 7/19 year olds: can we imagine, rue de Valois, that a reduced Culture Pass would have something other than negative consequences on this data?
In fact, assure the signatories: “The initial craze for manga has given way today to much more diversified sales (nearly 400,000 different titles have been purchased via the Pass). A good portion of these young people continue to frequent these bookstores once the Pass has been used. . »
That the Culture Pass has benefited, and continues to benefit, the book industry is a fact: the latest study by the General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs last July demonstrated this once again. According to the IGAC study, the findings that beneficiaries of full credit (€300) “mainly concern books (63%), comics and manga (39%), CD or vinyl records (24%), musical instruments (19%)».
An awkward place?
« The non-dematerialization of books has greatly benefited from the Pass: by creating a link between users and points of sale, therefore by favoring physical cultural goods, in fact, music and series suffer from it», rejoices a bookseller. “It would have been excessive to open the platforms, wherever they come from, and their digital offers, to this envelope. »
Thus, the ebook revolution not having taken place, that of the audiobook taking its time, the book has imposed itself in the face of streaming uses (musical or audiovisual). The Arcom Barometer 2023 showed that 87% of French Internet users — 15 years and over — consumed dematerialized cultural and sporting content, with films, music and series at the top of the list.
Without forgetting that significantly more books are published each year than films or albums. A point which does not, however, go without suffering the consequences, particularly in independent publishing.
Bookstores see red
According to data revealed during the National Bookstore Meetings – and Rachida Dati was present to hear it – the Culture Pass represents between 2.5 and 5% of the turnover of points of sale. A drop in the ocean for some, but any increase in sales is good to take in a profession with fragile results.
So, a godsend, obviously for the big bookstores especially, and the publishers, obviously, an electoral tool replacing bread and games, obviously… Except that after three years of Pass Culture, why dismantle it?
The auditions as part of the Book mission began last week, and on the book industry side, we remain speechless: “The effects of a revision would be quite dramatic“, we are told, “however the interlocutors ask us to evaluate the impacts on the sector, without explaining what they have in mind“. Famous.
Valois, calculator in hand
However, there is no shortage of ideas: one of them would consist of conditioning the full rate of €300… on resources. That of the home, probably, like what is in force for the Sport pass, credit of €50. “The logic of this system is that there would be crumbs left for those exceeding the ceilings. But for beneficiaries below the thresholds, this would not decrease too much», Analyzes someone close to the case.
It remains to be hoped that a Culture Pass revised on this model will be more successful than its counterpart dedicated to athletes. Especially since its budget of €100 million in 2023 would increase to €74.55 million in 2025. “Since its creation in 2021, the planned envelopes have never been consumed. The target audience corresponds to approximately 6.5 million young people. However, it was only used by 1.38 million of them in 2023, compared to 1.22 million in 2022 and 1 million in 2021. The national recourse rate stands at 22.6%.» (see the opinion presented to the National Assembly)
The other hypothesis turns out to be much more insidious: since it is necessary to please the live performance, Valois would consider reserving €50 (still on the full rate) for this activity alone. For the moment, the individual share devoted to this segment would be equivalent to €2 – or 0.6% of the total envelope, according to the IGAC report presented during the summer. 0.01% concerned the theater.
Sleight of hand according to the rules
The recommendation was then simple: “Encourage the amplification of reservations for certain categories that are little consumed and considered priorities, by strengthening specific mediation actions, co-constructed with places and cultural operators. »
READ – Would the Culture Pass spend lavishly?
Not enough offers, or a lack of interest in what the 11,138 registered places offered to beneficiaries? “For their part, the approved and labeled scenes consider the Culture Pass as a marginal source of reservations», even underlines the report…
So why force your hand? “We are clearly aiming for non-consumption of this budget: allocate €50 to popular offers worth €2, this leads to cleverly hidden savings.» Not so discreetly, however.
The three signatory organizations of the forum warn: “Culture has always been synonymous with freedom and diversity. Reading is the gateway, why want to close it? The success of the Culture Pass is due to its freedom of use. Why want to limit it?»
Fortunately, the logic leading to establishing quotas, once considered, was recently and unanimously denounced during a hearing before the Committee on Cultural Affairs in the Senate. A watchword: “The Culture Pass is freedom of choice. Introducing quotas would amount to forcing people to choose and limit their appetites.»
In which case, a question arises: who would become the arbiter of elegance?
Photo credits: ActuaLitté, CC BY SA 2.0
By Nicolas Gary
Contact : [email protected]
