France has always been proud of its "cultural exception" policies (l'exception culturelle), which ensure strong public support for the arts sector. But even this sacrosanct concept is being swept aside because of the government's unprecedented push for austerity.
On Thursday, the Académie des beaux-arts, founded by Louis XIV in 1648, published an appeal against the “violence” of the funding cuts faced by the culture sector.
The appeal was shared on the same day as parliament, after months of arduous deliberations, adopted a national budget for 2025, which slashed spending on culture, education and research.
The embattled French prime minister, François Bayrou, is struggling to limit the budget deficit to 5.4% of GDP this year. Museums and cultural heritage are destined to become the main victims of the cuts. On the whole, the culture ministry has lost €150m in government funding.
Last week, teachers said they were amazed to learn that a special programme supporting cultural day trips had been frozen without warning, despite having been planned for some time.
The impact of these cuts will be exacerbated by those made by local councils, the main sources of funding for the arts and culture sector. In its appeal, the academy warned against the effects of “violent unilateral decisions taken without consultation and transparency by several local authorities”. While calling on the sector to exercise a “sense of responsibility” in its management, the academy stressed that “one euro given to a festival, a theatre or a museum generates ten euros in income for hospitality, transport, etc.”
In the 2025 budget, local councils lost €2.2bn in state subsidies. Several regional councils have already moved to reduce their support for arts and culture with cuts ranging from 8% up to almost 70% in the case of the Loire valley.
Around 40,000 culture workers, who have also been hit by the rise in energy costs, have called for a national protest against “massive layoff plans” and expected cultural venue closures around France.
According to the union of artistic and cultural venues, the cuts from local councils alone will lead to 1,500 redundancies.
In its appeal, the Académie des beaux-arts also denounced “verbal attacks against arts and artists launched by some local politicians” who are seeking to justify the cuts and threatening the “freedom of research and creation, necessary to our democracy”.