French government unveils €2bn cultural recovery plan

The French government has announced a €2bn cultural recovery plan, with €220m dedicated to the live events sector.

Live performance venues that host “shows, concerts, and recorded music” will gain €200m in support, while €30m will be directed towards artists of all disciplines, including musicians and producers.

The National Music Center, which will be entrusted with distributing the live music sector’s funding, will also receive €10m from the live sector package. It will be used to strengthen the organisation, which was launched at the start of this year and specialises in crisis management.

Private theatres will receive €10m, which will be managed by the Private Theater Support Association (ASTP).

Meanwhile, a new mechanism for compensating operating losses linked to the persistence of distancing measures will be put in place, in order to encourage the resumption of activity. With €100m, excluding loans revival, this device was introduced from September 1 and will run for a period of four months.

In addition, €614m has been earmarked to aid in the revival of heritage sites, while €113m will be used to support artistic employment, revitalise young creation and modernise the network of higher education institutions for culture.

The culture recovery plan reads: “Culture, at the heart of our intimate construction and of our social cohesion, a marker of France’s international influence, has been very hard hit by the health crisis.

“With two billion euros for Culture, the response is massive and global. The challenge of the recovery plan in Culture is both to rebuild the cultural sectors and to reform cultural policies, in order to be able to support the resumption of activity and to project oneself into the future.”

The stimulus package is followed by a €100bn campaign to restart the economy – France Relance (France Relaunch).

The French government recently announced that indoor concerts without social distancing can go ahead providing there are fewer than 5,000 people in attendance, however, larger events will be banned until November.