At the Avignon Festival, several leading figures in the performing arts launched a solemn appeal to Emmanuel Macron , demanding the abandonment of budget cuts affecting the cultural sector. Read Sunday evening in the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes, their open letter warns of the consequences of these decisions for companies, venues, and performing arts professionals.
A call in response to a cultural "emergency"
Signed by directors Julien Gosselin, Rébecca Chaillon, Baptiste Amann, and choreographers Bouba Landrille Tchouda and Madeleine Fournier, among others, the text describes a situation that has become, according to its authors, untenable. "The repeated budget cuts and those that have been announced to us force us to cry out, so urgent is the situation," they assert, before directly addressing the head of state: "Don't be the one who destroys everything."
The signatories believe that these financial restrictions weaken a cultural model built up over several decades. They also point out that the culture budget represents, in their view, only 0,7% of the state budget, while emphasizing that the public cultural service constitutes "a common good" just like schools or hospitals.
Consequences already visible on the ground
Professionals are denouncing the already noticeable, concrete effects: cancelled shows, shortened seasons, weakened artistic and technical teams, and institutions forced to abandon some of their missions. "Is this the landscape of ruin you want to leave behind?" they ask in their opinion piece.
This statement follows another letter addressed to the president by 28 performing arts organizations, including several opera houses and orchestras. They were protesting the cancellation of funding planned for the second half of 2026. The Ministry of Culture indicated that part of the funds would ultimately be disbursed, while the remaining 10% is still under discussion with the Ministry of the Economy and Finance.
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