Mobilization of the world of culture in Nantes against the budget cuts decided by Christelle Morançais

Two thousand people gathered this Monday, November 25 in front of the regional hotel in Nantes to loudly demonstrate their mobilization against the drastic cuts announced by Christelle Morançais, the president of the Loire" rel="tag">Pays de la Loire region, in cultural aid. .

According to Christelle Morançais, president of the Pays de la Loire region, the cultural sector must “reinvent yourself.” She announced that she wanted to reduce the operating budget for culture by 73%.

Culture professionals are shocked by this decision and have chosen to make it known loud and clear. In the rain and with music, nearly 2,000 people, artists, technicians, volunteers and supporters gathered this Monday, November 25 in front of the Regional Hall, at the call of the Culture in Struggle movement and the CGT Spectacle Pays de the Loire.

People are speaking out one after the other to denounce these drastic cuts and their consequences. “At the Spanish film festival, 10,000 schoolchildren come, including 8,000 high school students. Who will suffer from these budget cuts? Young people!”protests Aymeric Seassau, PCF departmental secretary, deputy mayor of Nantes and president of Voyage à Nantes.

“The speech of the regional president, in relation to culture, I find it very aggressive in the way of stigmatizing the world of culture”reacted Dominique A, author, composer and performer, present among the demonstrators. “For me, it’s obvious to be there.”

This is based on ideological assumptions. The idea that culture is not a public good, a public service, is not understandable.

Dominique A

Author, performer

If the regional president, Christelle Morançais, did not show up, her avatar called “Sadness Death on stage, otherwise called the killing culture of Pays de Loire”invited herself to the platform.

duration of video: 00h01mn14s

In the absence of Christelle Morançais, the regional president, this Monday, November 25, 2024, the actors of cultural life, gathered in front of the Hôtel de Réion, gave birth to Tristess Mort en scène, the “killer culture”

•

©France 3 Pays de la Loire – Olivier Quentin

All cultural stakeholders denounce a brutal announcement, taken without consultation. “It’s very difficult to understand, because the Pays de la Loire region has always had a cultural policy since the 1950s”reacts Catherine Blondeau, director of Grand T.

“Instead of associating ourselves with a decision of national solidarity with financial difficulties, which we are capable of doing, we are responsible actors, we work, we know how to manage budgets, we know what it is to having to tighten our belts, our resources are cut off without warning, without warning, from one day to the next.”

She accuses us of being a bit lazy, fed on subsidies. We have the impression that there is really an almost punitive desire to get rid of a sector that displeases.

Catherine Blondeau

Director of Grand T

Read also ► “Why go beyond what is requested?”, cultural actors stunned by the drastic cuts announced by Christelle Morançais

Launched on Friday November 22, a petition has already gathered more than 15,000 signatures and an article was published this weekend in the press.

“One might think that a sector of public culture, which receives other subsidies from elsewhere, could get by without some of its partners. But in fact, for a long time in France, the entire cultural system, everything what people know, the festivals, the music schools, the art schools, the theaters, the cinemas All this is based on the fact that communities and the State work together to keep this ecosystem alive and enable everything. the world to access it at very low prices reasonable”recalls Catherine Blondeau.

Everyone fears that the decisions of the regional president will weaken the entire regional cultural ecosystem.

“Our sector operates with cross-financing, from the State, television channels, cinema, the National Cinematography Center (CNC) and it is extremely important that each community takes its part in the financing plan of our projects Today, if we remove one of the major players from this ecosystem, the whole house risks collapsing. underlines Maël Mainguy, audiovisual producer in Nantes.

The report by Sandrine Gadet, Olivier Quentin and Nicolas Guilbaud

Find us on our networks and on our website france.tv