Large or small, national or regional, no cultural institution is immune from cuts in subsidies. After the Parisian national establishments, subjected, at the beginning of April, to the amputations imposed by the ministries of culture and finance, it is the turn of labeled territorial scenes to receive an unforeseen reduction in their subsidies, decided this time by the local authorities . The national drama center of Toulouse and the national stage of Créteil have just learned of the financial disengagement of their respective departments. Time will tell if they are just the first in a long list.
In Haute-Garonne, the Théâtre de la Cité, co-directed by director Galin Stoev – whose contract Rachida Dati has just renewed until 2027 – will have to make do with 190,000 euros less. A decision taken on April 19 by the departmental council, which reduces, without prior consultation, its subsidy by 80%. And even seems to call into question its support from 2025. A prospect which, if it became effective, would imply a cumulative loss of 1 million euros by the end of Galin Stoev’s mandate.
Taken aback by the“lack of dialogue” and placed in front of the “fait accompli”the director said he encountered a “purely accounting discourse”. Stunned by the “brutality” of the process, which augurs, according to him, a “new page in the relationship between the institution and its supervision”Galin Stoev will not abandon the boat, even if the idea crossed his mind: “We will absorb this new economic constraint. But until when must we remain the good students who are asked to find solutions, whatever the circumstances? »
Limit the damage
The Théâtre de la Cité is supported by cross-financing from the State (2.4 million euros), the metropolis (2 million), the Occitanie region (377,000 euros) and the department (240,000 euros before the cup). Any withdrawal of a partner is a blow to a balance weakened by a tense economic context. The repercussions can be disastrous. “We were told that there would be no review clause, and no compensation from other supervisory authorities”explains co-director Stéphane Gil.
The latter seeks to limit the damage, to protect a 2024-2025 season whose finalized content he was preparing to communicate to the public: “ We try to postpone shows rather than cancel them, since we are, as a national drama center, co-producers of the majority of companies present within our walls. We are going to draw on the theater’s reserves and symbolically increase ticket prices. We don’t want to touch permanent employment. On the other hand, that of intermittent workers will be affected: fewer projects mean fewer hours for ushers or technicians. »
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