War in Ukraine, immigration, purchasing power, energy issues... It is difficult for the cultural question to find a place in the presidential campaign.
However, with the Covid-19 crisis and the rise of streaming platforms, major challenges are looming.
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In general, Emmanuel Macron recognizes at the start of his program that
“too many citizens do not have access to culture”
.
On his campaign site, the candidate for the Republic on the move highlights the results of his five-year term, mentioning in particular the Culture Pass for young people, accessible since January 2022 from the age of 15 and which would be further extended to give
“younger access to culture”
.
This Pass offers young adults the sum of 300 euros (20 euros in the year of 15 years, 30 euros for 16 and 17 year olds) to spend on cultural goods and services, such as books, tickets for shows, records or musical instruments.
The outgoing president also proposes to open the libraries in the evening and on Sundays, as he wanted to do from 2018.
Read alsoPasse Culture extended to those under 18, what you need to know
Marine Le Pen's program does not contain a section devoted to culture, but for the candidate of the National Rally, priority is given to heritage and its preservation.
She wants to make it a
“great national cause”
, by proceeding to
“an inventory”
of the state of heritage,
“region by region, department by department”
.
Marine Le Pen also proposes the creation of a National Heritage Service open to volunteers aged 18 to 24, for a period of six months, renewable once.
According to its program, the objective will be to
"work towards the restoration, protection and enhancement of our built and natural heritage"
.
As part of this
"great heritage policy"
, taxation would be redesigned for historic monuments, in order to adapt it
"to the conservation needs of this property in the national heritage"
.
The annual budget allocated to the restoration of monuments would increase from 330 million to one billion and the Heritage Loto would be exempt from taxes.
Read alsoLotto continues to give heritage a chance
Common point to the two candidates: the end of the audiovisual license fee
Emmanuel Macron proposes to abolish the fee, currently backed by the housing tax.
Worth 138 euros per household, it brings in 3.2 billion euros and makes it possible to finance television and radio channels in the public sector, such as France Télévisions, Radio France, Arte or France Médias Monde (France 24, RFI...), and INA.
Its abolition raises the question of funding and the future independence of public broadcasting.
Marine Le Pen's objective is therefore to privatize the public audiovisual sector with the exception of overseas editorial offices, Arte and INA.
It nevertheless assures that
"the aid which today benefits the creation and promotion of the various sectors of cultural activity, and in particular (...
Read alsoRoyalty: the question of public service advertising arises again
Two ways to extend the influence of French culture
According to Emmanuel Macron,
“the international influence of our artistic life is running out of steam”
.
It plans to
“invest in the French creative and cultural industries by creating a dedicated investment fund of 200 million euros.”
Faced with competition from platforms, the president wishes to
“create the conditions for the emergence of a “European Netflix” exposing the best of European cinema and series.”
Emmanuel Macron would like
to “make new public artistic commissions across France to support young creators”
and create a metaverse on a European scale, to compete with the metaverses initiated by the American and Asian giants, by offering experiences in virtual reality, around museums, heritage and new creations.
These European metaverses would protect
“copyright and neighboring rights”
.
Read alsoFor Emmanuel Macron, Europe must not miss the metaverse train
To promote French culture, Marine Le Pen wants to set up a
“Francophone Union”
, which would bring together all the countries where French is spoken.
“In this respect, the French-speaking countries of Africa, unfairly neglected for too many years, must play a leading role in the Francophone Union that I call for
,” explains the candidate.
Finally, the outgoing president mentioned
“cultural and informational independence”
.
"The crises we are experiencing, the transitions, the new forms of warfare show how much information, fiction, creation forge minds in open democratic societies and are subjects of sovereignty and independence"
, declared Emmanuel Macron , which therefore wishes to
“protect free information against interference”
and launch
“States General for the right to information”
.
