These budget cuts undermine “the strong cultural policy of May-sur-Èvre”worries Councilor Alice Lazar. For example, “for the Région en scene festival, it’s €25,000 less next year”specifies Marie-Claude Rochais, culture assistant at May-sur-Èvre (Maine-et-Loire).
Thursday December 19, 2024, the municipal council condemned “the drastic cuts made” by the Pays de la Loire region in its 2025 budget. A motion of support, at the initiative of Alice Lazar, was thus adopted unanimously.
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A committed community
The Maytais cultural project is divided into different actions: mediation, cultural actions with schools, ambitious and eclectic programming, development of the library, support for cultural associations, etc.
For several years, all of these actions have been threatened by the impact of various crises: health, inflationary, economic and financial. Local authorities are now reducing their funding for public policies, including culture.
Read also: Cuts in culture in Pays de la Loire: a petition has more than 110,000 signatures
“Not just culture”
The municipal council, through this motion, recalls its “attachment to culture as an essential means of development and emancipation of each person”. May-sur-Èvre wishes “continue to support a cultural policy which shines and which constitutes an asset of attractiveness”et “provides full support to professionals in the cultural world”.
“And it’s not just culture, observes Marie-Noëlle Jobard, social affairs assistant. The Women's Foundation is also affected. » Hervé Garreau, assistant for youth, sports and community life, notes that “attacking social issues is a bad calculation”.
