In Chernihiv, Ukraine, France invests in culture

From our special correspondent in Chernihiv,

Although the city was not occupied, it was a frequent target of Russian bombs. In addition to the hospital, strategic infrastructure and the university, the funds released by Paris were used to renovate the city's theater. Franck's sonata resonates in the renovated room, a French melody for a timeless evening in the heart of a Ukrainian city affected by war. Right here, on August 19, 2023, a Russian missile fell, killing 7 people and injuring more than 150, As evidenced by the still damaged ceiling of the entrance. But in the room, the renovations financed by the France and Germany made a return to cultural life possible.

Gaël Veyssière, the French ambassador to Ukraine, visited the site: “ There is a special relationship between France and Chernihiv, since the Ukrainian authorities asked in July 2022, during a major international meeting in Lugano, that each state that wants to help and support theUkraine volunteers more specifically for a particular region. »

It is therefore in terms of reconstruction that the French partnership in Chernihiv was established. “ In addition to everything we do elsewhere in the field of health, in the field of education – building shelters for schools – helping hospitals, we thought it was really worth it to mobilize. And thanks to the support of Expertise France and French programs, we were able to redo the roof of this theater, rejoices the ambassador. And so today, it's the first major show to resume in this theater, which has never stopped operating in fact, in the small parts that were sheltered. »

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Artists gone to the front

War is present everywhere. At the heart of the theater, director Serhiy Moisienko leads the French delegation into the attic. Along the way, a gallery of portraits shows artists who went to the front and those who did not return. “ These are those of our hero artists, those who are on the front lines, those who are fighting. This one turned 55 a week ago…”, confides Serhiy Moisienko.

Despite the absence of dozens of artists, performances took place in the basement of the theater while repairs were being carried out. During this French visit, in the large renovated hall, only French artists will be played. For Gaël Veyssière, this shows a Ukraine resolutely turned towards the West. “ It's a way of resisting, it's also a way of asserting who we are, believes the ambassador. It is also a way of asserting oneself in a larger whole. And today's choice is a French choice, with French musicians, but it is also a European choice. And this is what the Ukrainians want, I believe, deeply. »

That evening, during a concert, the Ukrainians of Chernihiv were able to experience a cultural interlude in the colors of France, without air alert, as a reminder of a precious and all too rare normality in a country always at the mercy of its Russian neighbor.