They are twenty-nine in the running;
there will be only one left.
Roubaix, Annecy, Sète, Cannes, Colmar, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Vierzon, Brest, Vitry-le-François or even overseas communities such as Saint-Paul (Réunion) and the Greater South Caribbean agglomeration community ( Guadeloupe): here are a handful of cities or agglomerations which have applied to become the first "
French capital of culture
" in 2022, said the Ministry of Culture on Thursday.
Read also: Bourges in the running to become the first "French Capital of Culture"
“
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 applications come from communities of municipalities
", specifies the ministry, which welcomes the"
large number of applications
"despite the"
particularly difficult context for the cultural sector
".
An interest which, according to him, “
testifies to the interest that [local communities] have in cultural policy, an important lever for the vitality and attractiveness of the territories
”.
Annecy, Villeurbanne, Montélimar are candidates for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Brest and the community of Châteaugiron for Brittany, Bourges and the community of Vierzon for the Center region, Colmar, Metz and the community of communes of Vitry-Champagne for the Grand Est, Roubaix for Hauts-de-France, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Versailles and the Val Briard interco for Ile-de-France, the agglomeration of Angoulême, Gujan-Mestars and Pau represent New -Aquitaine, Sète and the community of Pézenas are candidates for Occitanie, Laval and Le Mans for Pays-de-la-Loire, Aix, Antibes, Cannes, Istres and the community of communes of Pays d'Apt represent Paca, Le Lamentin wears the colors of Martinique, Saint-Paul those of Reunion Island and the Greater South Caribbean community those of Guadeloupe.
The winner designated in early April
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.
The label is inspired by that of European Capital of Culture, launched by the European Union in 1985. Safety, a challenge for Marseille, the European capital, is the latest French city to have benefited from this promotional showcase.
