France intends to help Russian artists
"forced into exile"
because of their opposition to President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine, Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Wednesday.
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"If Russian artists, dissident artists who have taken a stand against Mr. Putin's government and everything he represents, were forced into exile, we would be at their side to ensure that they get the help they need"
, she told AFP, on the sidelines of the presentation to her ministry of the week of the French language and the Francophonie.
“I was very clear with all the cultural institutions: we are not at war with Russia.
So there is no reason to have a punitive approach vis-à-vis its artists
,” she continued.
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I asked for the cancellation or postponement of events organized by: one, official Russian cultural institutions;
two, the artists who have taken a clear stand for Mr. Putin's regime and have done so for a long time.
Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Culture at AFP
“If Russian artists have been programmed, it is not a question of summoning them to take a stand against Mr. Putin's regime. One imagines the endangerment of themselves and the endangerment if they are touring the entire world of their own family. The elements that come to us from Russia are extremely worrying, with the decision of the Duma of March 4 which indicates that this kind of position is subject to 15 years in prison
, ”she detailed.
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Roselyne Bachelot also insisted on the need to promote Russian classical culture.
“We are not going to stop Mussorgsky, we are not going to stop Tchaikovsky, we are not going to stop playing Chekhov.
There are boycott demands that do not correspond to what culture is for us
,” she said.