Something has changed at Roselyne Bachelot.
We had not met the Minister of Culture, 73, since her hospitalization on March 20 for a serious form of Covid-19.
She has consequences and apologizes for having to catch her breath regularly during the two hours of discussion with our readers.
Less talkative than usual, she nevertheless displays her fighting spirit in the face of attacks.
Two days before the reopening of cultural venues, she calls for an end to occupations in theaters, urges the French to find the artists, and even to take out their instruments to animate the Fête de la Musique which will be held almost normally on June 21.
"We will dance, but masked", she smiles, without ignoring that she has not finished with this "tragedy which has brought part of the world of Culture to a halt".
HIS HEALTH.
"I have been trying to dialogue with death for a very long time"
"What really amazed me were the nursing teams", assures Roselyne Bachelot, about her period of hospitalization.
LP / Olivier Corsan
Aurore Prud'hon.
How are you ?
ROSELYNE BACHELOT.
I'm getting better and better, thank you.
You will forgive me I sometimes have small breathing problems like all people who have a long Covid.
I am thinking of the hundreds of thousands of French people who suffer from this disease.
But I am in great shape.
Maya Dadci.
What has changed after this ordeal?
During such an ordeal, one is always in front of his destiny, of his end. We live these moments in solitude. I have been trying to dialogue with death for a very long time. So I'm probably better prepared than others on this journey. What really amazed me were the healthcare teams. When I saw them enter in boots, helmets ... And despite this protective suit, they managed to transmit such humanity, such skill, such benevolence ... It was extraordinary in a world where we doubt everything, in a world of violence, of selfishness. It was a lesson in optimism that I learned from it. That's why when people ask me if I haven't been hurt by certain cries of suffering from the cultural world that are sometimes very violent, I don't want to give up on this benevolence,I want to listen to this suffering which can lead to certain slippages, certain excesses.
Ketsia Soto.
Did you also feel lonely as a minister?
A minister is never alone.
It has teams, services, a cabinet.
But the exercise of power is a solitary exercise.
We are alone to make the decisions, to take the blows too.
But I have a long career.
I am the dean of the Council of Ministers, even if I sometimes have the impression that the young people are older than me
(laughs)
.
Sylvain Gavry.
What will be your first cultural outing?
It's still top secret (laughs).
I will go to a museum, a theater, a cinema.
I already have a small program.
And this Monday afternoon, I'm going to see how all of this is organized: exhibition hangs, rehearsals in theaters.
This restart is gradual because there are many unknowns to avoid a new "stop-and-go" If we reopened to close in a few weeks, the world of culture would have difficulty recovering
THE REOPENING.
"The public is safe in the theaters"
"The treatment of epidemics will be a central issue in the management of public affairs in the years to come", explains the minister.
LP / Olivier Corsan
Maya Dadci.
Do you not fear a reluctance of the public to return to closed cultural places?
There is a very great appetite.
And reopening does not mean abandoning protective measures.
I hate the expression "barrier gestures".
It means creating barriers between people.
These are measures of interest for others.
Wearing a mask, ventilation, distancing, flow management… The world of culture anticipates all these measures.
We built them with them.
The public must be told that it is safe.
This is also why, secondly, for gatherings of more than 1,000 people, a health pass will be requested.
Is it necessary to ventilate confined spaces?
This is a crucial security issue.
I did not want to label the rooms, but their renovation, especially those of smaller size, will have to take this issue into account.
The treatment of epidemics will be a central issue in the management of public affairs in the years to come.
Which room model to build?
It is essential to think about it.
No pandemic will be like another.
I am always wary of lessons from the past.
My action - purchase of vaccines and masks - was criticized during a previous pandemic (
Editor's note: when she was Minister of Health
) before being greeted ten years later ...
PODCAST.
From H1N1 to coronavirus, the rehabilitation of the former Minister of Health Roselyne Bachelot
Leander Mandar.
You were against the health pass at the start.
Have you changed your mind ?
Not at all !
I was against the vaccine passport which conditioned entry into a place of culture to being vaccinated.
With the health pass, either you are vaccinated, or you have a negative test within 48 hours or you have had the Covid in the last 6 months and you can go to a show.
These three entry keys are mentioned in the “Tous Anticovid” application.
But for those who do not have it, they can obtain a paper certificate from their doctor with a QR code that will include the same information.
When reading this code, only the name of the person and the indication "valid" or "invalid" will appear without further clarification.
When and where will it be mandatory?
From June 9, in demonstrations of more than 1000 people.
We are currently studying how he will allow standing concerts to be held in the best possible way.
Aurore Prud'hon.
On May 29, there will be a test concert that costs 1.4 million euros with Indochine at the Accor Arena.
Is the game worth the candle?
Isn't it too late?
Couldn't we build on the one already achieved in Barcelona?
Yes, it is worth the effort, it is a question of studying what will happen on the scientific level to then propose the best possible protocols. There is a whole process to authorize them, because they are scientific research with human beings. This is not a way to advance the opening, no, but to analyze in vivo how it will happen in order to then be able to offer the best possible protections. Two concerts were authorized, the concerts in Paris, with Indochine, and the one in Montpellier. That of Barcelona is no longer valid with the appearance of variants. We have to adapt to the epidemic. It is undoubtedly what is difficult to percolate in the public opinion. We are told you are changing! Yes, the virus is changing, we are forced to adapt.
Read also Why is the Parisian test concert so expensive?
Are you going to this concert?
No, I won't go.
It's not that I miss the desire… First, because I'm going elsewhere… And then I also need to protect myself a little if I want to be in good shape.
Ketsia Toto.
Will the Fête de la Musique be maintained?
It will be held on June 21 and will not be subject to the health pass.
We can dance but it will be a masked party with a curfew at 11 p.m.
.
I appeal to everyone's responsibility.
The rate of 50% of people vaccinated should be reached, we will achieve a significant level of immunity.
Aurore Prud'hon.
How do you explain the mistrust that may exist and this movement to occupy theaters?
You have to hear all of this, of course.
But behind that there are also political projects of opposition to the government.
There are a little more than 80 occupied places, and I say it forcefully, these occupations do not seem to me compatible with the reopening.
This movement was also born to ask for the reopening of cultural places.
They reopen!
There was the question of intermittent workers, their rights are extended ... We responded to requests, the ball is in the court of those who occupy, but it is not only people from the world of Culture.
I understand that we are demonstrating, but why in places of culture not directly concerned?
We must stop the occupations.
Sylvain Gavry.
You have been criticized by certain festivals, which have criticized you for the seated gauge and late responses ...
Do you think we've waited a long time? The arrival of the more serious and more contaminating English variant at the beginning of the year was a game-changer. Since we are talking about large standing events, we immediately developed aids to allow them to adapt to the seated gauges. Some have done so, such as Les Vieilles Charrues and Cabaret Vert. But the regrouping of festival-goers in front of the stage and certain practices are not compatible with the pandemic. I think of the pogo, the mosh, the wall of death that I discovered (laughs). Now, I know everything about the practices of rap, electro and metal festivals. Metal which I have always been a fan of, but never at festivals. It's Patrick Roy (
Editor's note: northern socialist deputy fan of metal
), which introduced me to Hellfest.
I loved him very much and had the honor of delivering a funeral oration at his funeral.
Leander Mandar.
Can we hope to see festivals standing this summer?
We are working on it with the professionals.
The test concerts will help us set up health protocols, such as the health passport and vaccination.
What is also important for financial balance is catering and bars.
The regulations in force for bars and restaurants will apply to festivals.
It will be necessary to avoid the refreshments where one congregates.
HIS BALANCE SHEET.
"I will support Emmanuel Macron in 2022"
Roselyne Bachelot says she is "proud to lead this world of art and culture into an unimaginable tragedy".
LP / Olivier Corsan
Sylvain Gavry.
You arrived at the Ministry of Culture at the worst time.
Is it frustrating?
I remember, in a documentary, François Hollande saying to Fleur Pellerin, Minister of Culture:
It's not difficult you go out every night and you tell them it's good
.
It is true that sometimes the Ministers of Culture were sort of ambassadors, the first groupies of Parisian shows.
But if I left the comfort of life that was mine to accept the constraints that I am living, it is because I have the feeling that I had a mission.
In these appalling circumstances, rather than a spectator, I am maneuvering to find the means to get through this crisis.
I am a warrior in the service of culture.
When Jean Castex asked me if I wanted to return to government, I first said no.
And for Culture?
I said yes.
I considered that I could not shirk.
Maya Dadci.
Are you going to continue to protect the intermittents of the spectacle?
Intermittence is a jewel of French cultural policies, which does not exist in any other country.
It is not a status, it is taking unemployment into account to adapt to the specificity of artistic creation.
There is absolutely no question of going back on it, on the contrary, it must be protected.
This is naturally also the responsibility of the Minister of Labor.
We have extended the protection system beyond August 31 until the end of the year.
I also wanted there to be a specific measure for young people at the start of their careers.
For those under 30, the threshold of 507 hours to enter the intermittency system is lowered to 338 hours.
There are also occasional show aids in addition to those for teams.
Ketsia Toto.
Will you continue to help artists if there is another epidemic?
We never failed.
Our past pleads for us.
In just over a year, 11 billion euros have been mobilized for art and culture, the men and women who make it.
We tried not to forget anyone, to reduce the procedures as much as possible.
Angela Merkel, in a country with 15 million more inhabitants, has mobilized 2 billion euros.
The only difference is that the German cultural world praised her.
And we with 11 billion, we sometimes had less benevolent comments, let's say ...
How to democratize culture?
We must reconcile digital culture and heritage culture. With the help of the pass culture which will be generalized in a few days. Tested with 160,000 young people, it will become a massive tool for cultural policy. Intended for adults, I would like to extend it to young people from the 4th year. In France, if there is no cultural desert, 55% of French people never go to museums, to shows… And of the 10% who go there regularly, 75% come from privileged backgrounds. It's not all about money, but ownership and education, hence the importance of the culture pass. These same people have to pay more than 100 euros for an international artist not to say to themselves any more, by speaking for example of the opera, where there are places less than 30 euros,
this culture is not for me, it will not please me, I will not understand
.
Maya Dadci.
Barbara Pravi represents France at Eurovision Song Contest.
Is it good news, according to you, that she sings in French?
That the singers speak French is obviously very important.
The massive intervention of English in these areas ... Is it worrying?
But, it is up to us to offer an enticing cultural offer.
This year, France is the favorite!
I am wary of favorites at Eurovision Song Contest.
We have already had a number of disappointments ...
Read also "Three years ago, I was at the end of the line": how Barbara Pravi became the favorite of Eurovision
Sylvain Gavry.
Will you support Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential election?
Yes, absolutely.
He trusted me and I trust him in return, it is normal that I support him strongly.
Sylvain Gavry.
Do you still feel like playing politics?
Could you become minister again if Emmanuel Macron was re-elected?
Now, I no longer make any commitments!
(laughs)
You had rightly said that we would not take you there again!
Circumstances sometimes cause us to change ...
What if an LR president is elected?
If General de Gaulle asked me to be his Minister of Culture
(laughs)…
But I don't think that's going to be possible.
Maya Dadci.
Exactly, what do you think of what has become of your old party
(Editor's note: The Republicans)
?
I really do not want to go into the electoral, political assessments.
I have, for a large part of my life.
But on these plans, I have already given.
If I accepted this role, it's to get out of it, it's to lead this non-partisan mission.
I also note that I benefit in the National Assembly and the Senate from a benevolence, an understanding, a respect, resulting from the fact that I stick to this role.
Aurore Prud'hon.
We remember Jack Lang, who set up the single book prize… You, as Minister of Culture, what could be your fight, your emblematic measure?
One thing I am proud of is to accompany this world of art and culture in an unimaginable tragedy.
To ensure that in this appalling crisis, it was preserved, protected, that it could exist in this country as in any other country, it is the first thing that I will take away from my assessment.
Roselyne Bachelot and the readers of our newspaper
Behind Roselyne Bachelot, from left to right: Ketsia Toto, 23, law student, Noisy-le-Grand (Seine-Saint-Denis);
Léandre Mandar, 27, doctoral student History Sciences-Po, Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis);
Sylvain Gavry, 26, student actor, Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine);
Aurore Prud'hon, 28, singer and actress, Paris VIe;
Maya Dadci, 48 years old, in reconversion, Asnières (Hauts-de-Seine)
