Roubaix Park, candidate city for the French capital of culture -
Michel Spingler / AP / SIPA
A nice enhancement.
Twenty-nine cities or towns are candidates to become the first "French capital of culture" in 2022, said Thursday in a press release the Ministry of Culture, which must designate the winner in early April.
The label is inspired by that of European Capital of Culture, launched by the European Union in 1985. Marseille, in 2013, is the last French city to date to have benefited from this promotional showcase.
Very diverse, the candidate cities range from Roubaix to Cannes, via Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Vierzon, Brest, Vitry-le-François or overseas communities like Saint-Paul (Réunion).
A first selection mid-February
“Ten applications come from communities with between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, and eleven from communities with less than 50,000 inhabitants.
Finally, a third of the candidatures come from communities of communes, specifies the ministry.
He is pleased with the "large number of applications" which according to him "testifies to the interest that [local authorities] have in cultural policy, an important lever for the vitality and attractiveness of the territories".
A first selection in mid-February should narrow the list.
Then "the jury will hear the selected candidates during the last week of March 2021. The Minister of Culture will announce, in the wake, the winning community of the first edition of the label", indicates the ministry.
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