2023-05-15 18:53:54
Misunderstanding and concern. These are the two feelings that dominate after the vote on cultural subsidies by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council. During a permanent commission, Friday, May 12, the elected representatives of the majority of the region, chaired by the LR Laurent Wauquiez, notably decided to reduce by more than half the aid granted to the International Short Film Festival of Clermont-Ferrand , which goes from €210,000 to €100,000. The Woodstower street music and theater festival in Lyon has seen its €40,000 subsidy completely abolished.
Between €600,000 and €1 million in subsidies eliminated
In total, around fifteen budget cuts would have been approved, for a total amount ranging from €600,000 to €1 million. Data difficult to specify, the region only communicating on increases or the release of new subsidies. « From increased funding for festivals to support for live performances, through support for the cultural offer in rural areas, the region is stepping up its support for 111 artistic structures,” she welcomed in a press release. The annual budget allocated to culture remains stable compared to 2022, amounting to 60.2 million euros for 2023.
In a press release on April 28, the region justifies its choices as follows: “While the region is committed to supporting the arts, culture and the many players in its rich sectors, public subsidies are not automatic. In October 2022, the region wished to rethink its financing policy in this area in order to support projects throughout the territory. »
Among the beneficiaries of subsidies, the festival committee of Beaujeu, a village of 2,000 inhabitants of Beaujolais, which obtains aid of €1,500 (out of a budget of €8,500), as every year for the past three years, for the medieval festival of Sires de Beaujeu around the theme of the Middle Ages. ” This sum allows us to finance a good part of the closing concert for which we bring the Little Singers of the Elevatio ensemble, from the mastery of the cathedral of Lyon! “, rejoices the president, also elected municipal, Christian Dumoulin. The same satisfaction with the musicians of the Ocques Rouges in Saint-Jean Des Vignes, which organizes concerts and workshops in the rural communes of the department, and benefits, for the first time, from a subsidy of 700 € (out of a budget of 4,000 €).
” What are the criteria ? »
However, misunderstanding most often prevails, including among the lucky ones who, for the most part, have not yet been officially warned by the region. The Cordes en ballade music festival, in the south of the Ardèche, sees this year its subsidy increase from 15,000 to 20,000 euros. A relief after a decline in 2022, unexpected given the priority for rural areas displayed by the region, but insufficient to dispel uncertainties. “Last year, the argument of rurality did not prevent a reduction in our subsidy, so it does not always work, deplores a source on condition of anonymity. We want explanations. What are the criteria ? It is impossible to sustain jobs in such a context of uncertainty. »
As for the cuts, they come at a time when most cultural players are struggling to recover from the health crisis. “Our association was already very in deficit”, regrets Maxime Noly, general manager of the Woodstower Festival, explaining that if the lost subsidy only accounts for 2% of the event’s budget, it “is not marginal”allowing to “finance freebies or low prices”.
“It’s not a rebalancing, it’s a decapitation”
Given a deficit of €270,000 in 2022, the reduction in the subsidy for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, which until now represented nearly 20% of its annual budget, weakens the association. “The region was our main partner, it’s not a rebalancing, it’s a decapitation”, is alarmed Julie Rousson, general delegate. A reference to the intention announced by the vice-president of the region in charge of culture, Sophie Rotkopf, to “rebalancing subsidies in favor of the most remote territories” at a press conference on April 28.
For those concerned, this argument does not stand up to the choices of the region. “We are not a self-centered festival on a metropolis, having in particular developed distribution programs in rural areas”, argues Julie Rousson. The Woodstower Festival highlights the same inconsistency. “To consider our event as purely metropolitan is a mistake, explains Maxime Noly. It takes place on a park straddling the city of Lyon and the territory of Ain. »
Lack of dialogue and fait accompli
In addition to the shortfall, the targets of the budget cuts regret the methods of the region, characterized by the absence of dialogue and the fait accompli. It was in fact through an unofficial phone call a few months ago that the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival learned of the fate that would be reserved for it before having confirmation, on May 12, by a elected from the opposition. “We had not ceased to alert the region to the consequences of such a choiceexplains Julie Rousson. But we have had no response to our letters. » A silence that maintains the impression of arbitrariness.
Similarly, Joris Mathieu, the director of the New Generation theater in Lyon, was informed “by the journalists present at the press conference”the total elimination of the aid of €149,000 from which his institution benefits. “We have of course heard the director’s comments and disagreements and we have chosen to withdraw all funding from this structure”, explained Sophie Rotkopf, adding: “How do you argue with someone who doesn’t want to argue?” He never ceases to despise the region, and through his approach he despises all the inhabitants outside the Lyon metropolis. »
Tribunes in “Télérama”
The elected official then referred to a forum published by Teleramaon April 20, where Joris Mathieu, also a member of the national office of the Syndicate of artistic and cultural enterprises (Syndeac), denounces the “culture of fear” and the “autocratic excesses” of Laurent Wauquiez in terms of cultural policy. With the approach of the permanent commission of May 12, 200 elected officials, including around sixty deputies, senators and mayors of large cities of different labels, relayed these concerns by denouncing “the opacity of the criteria that govern the decisions of the regional executive”.
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