Culture, forgotten in the presidential campaign

Status of intermittent workers, support for creation, artistic education, funding... What are the presidential candidates proposing in the field of culture? France 24 takes stock.

But where has culture gone in this presidential campaign?

While the majority of candidates emphasize its importance, and even more so after having been deprived of it during the health crisis, it seems to have been sacrificed on the altar of more divisive themes, such as immigration, purchasing power or the energy question. .

France 24 reviews the candidates' proposals from left to right.

Fabien Roussel

The communist candidate plans to create a large Ministry of Culture, Popular Education and the Media, as well as the organization of decentralized general assemblies to promote exchanges between "actors in the world of art, culture and popular education, as well as the living forces of the country".

More concretely, he wants to devote 1% of GDP to culture.

"This level of financial commitment corresponds to an increase of around 30% of current public budgets, achievable in one term of office."

Regarding the question of intermittent performers, the 50-year-old wishes to "consolidate" their regime by giving them "an authentic status, more protective and effectively guaranteeing their social rights and their remuneration".

Under his presidency, Fabien Roussel promises that "artists and creators will be placed under the protection of the Republic, in the face of the obscurantist attacks to which they and they are increasingly subject. The State will protect art and the creation of the domination of the North American digital industry, which plunders their content and standardizes them".

🤜 Access to good food and culture for all, rather than billions for a few.

Here is a great ambition for our society.#Roussel #joursheureux pic.twitter.com/oocYjiJ7jB

— PCF82 (@PCF_82) February 12, 2022

Jean-Luc Melenchon

Like Fabien Roussel, Jean-Luc Mélenchon intends to bring the culture budget to 1% of GDP per year.

Among his other announced measures, the leader of the Insoumis wishes to promote culture for all by overhauling "classes with artistic and cultural projects", by repealing territorial inequalities, by extending free admission to museums and by regulating the prices of private places.

To support creation, he also wants to design a system for artist-authors and improve that of intermittent performers, by integrating "other discontinuous cultural professions", such as that of guide-lecturers.

Finally, he no longer wants "the power of France" on the international scene to be reduced to "big tricks" and "his army", but to "

We are 60 days away from the election.

We are talking about security and immigration.

But we have a hard time bringing up other subjects.

I want France to shine through its culture.

We are at the forefront of video games.

#Elysee2022 #Melenchon2022 pic.twitter.com/ueoYfP7huJ

— Jean-Luc Melenchon (@JLMelenchon) February 10, 2022

Anne Hidalgo

In her program, the socialist candidate intends to "replace culture at the heart of the republican project" because "France is a cultural project in itself".

To do this, the current mayor of Paris wants all public stages to be able to systematically, and throughout the year, welcome artists in residence.

President, she assures that she will ask all the institutions financed mainly by public money to reserve 10% of their programming for new creation, whatever the field.

Anne Hidalgo also wishes to develop the principle of artothèques, public media libraries for the plastic arts.

She also wants to involve 10,000 artists in schools from 2023. Finally, she pleads for fair remuneration for authors, writers,

In its program, @Anne_Hidalgo proposes to develop public media libraries for the visual arts #artotheques #CulturePourTous https://t.co/3LAV5yyUXV

— Tugdual Gauter (@tug_g) February 10, 2022

Yannick Jadot

In his "Ecological Republic", Yannick Jadot plans a plan of one billion euros to help this sector, of which a share dedicated to creation will be increased to 25%.

It thus intends to offer artists and cultural professionals dignified and responsible conditions for creation and production, notably by guaranteeing them an income.

It also wishes to make financial resources available to them with the aim of helping effectively with the ecological transition of the sector.

Valerie Pécresse

The candidate Les Républicains makes many proposals.

She first wishes to create a "national day of French heroes", in order to celebrate the great figures of the nation in schools, citing Joan of Arc, de Gaulle, Pasteur and Molière.

It also wants each school to adopt a cultural project and intends that twinning with cultural institutions, conservatories and artists be offered in each school, college or high school to allow each child to have access to Culture.

She wants all cultural structures supported by public funds to be "strongly encouraged" to develop artistic and cultural education actions for young people.

As far as culture itself is concerned, the

current president of the Île-de-France region wants to encourage the creation of new works by "imposing" on each major Parisian cultural establishment to devote a significant part of its budget to the dissemination of its creations throughout France.

She also wants to strengthen the laws on patronage to allow local businesses and French people to become more involved in the preservation of French heritage.

It also plans to launch a policy of orders from local authorities for young creators.