Theatre Professionals Call on Macron to Protect Culture from Further Cuts

Avignon – 13 July 2026: Theatre and cultural professionals have urgently warned President Emmanuel Macron at the Festival d’Avignon against further cuts in the public cultural sector. In an open appeal, the signatories demand that the announced and already implemented cuts be halted. They believe the ability of theatres, festivals and independent companies to operate is at risk, and call for a political reorientation in favour of publicly supported cultural provision.

The initiative comes at a time of growing concern in France’s theatre and music sectors. According to figures from the sector, the 2026 culture budget has fallen by EUR 173.4 million compared with the previous year and now totals around EUR 3.7 billion. This represents a cut that particularly affects performing arts institutions whose funding relies on state and municipal subsidies.

The appeal’s signatories combine their warning with institutional criticism. Public cultural policy, they argue, should not be reduced to funding individual prestige projects, but should ensure permanent jobs, regional venues, artistic production and public access. If funds are cut at short notice, contracts with artists and producers may not be fulfilled, premieres may be cancelled and already planned seasons may have to be scaled back.

Particular attention is focused on 28 theatres, opera houses, orchestras and other cultural institutions facing further reductions in their state funding. Industry representatives had already warned in early July of cuts of ten to twelve percent to parts of the subsidies. In their assessment, such measures could force individual institutions to postpone or cancel programmes and shift some costs into unemployment or refunds.

The debate extends beyond Avignon. France’s model of cultural support is based on cooperation between the state, regions, departments and municipalities. When the central government reduces its contribution, pressure increases on local authorities, which are themselves subject to spending constraints. This is particularly consequential for the performing arts, as ticket revenues cover only part of the actual costs of many productions.

Culture Minister Catherine Pégard herself pointed to the difficult consequences of further funding cuts before the relevant committee of the National Assembly in May. At the same time, the ministry referred to the still unfinished preparation of the 2027 budget. No binding decisions on its size have yet been made; the theatre professionals’ demand is directed above all against possible additional cuts in the ongoing budget process.

The Festival d’Avignon gives the conflict particular visibility. As an international gathering of artists, organisers and funders, it has for decades been a central venue for French theatre policy. The current appeal shows that the dispute over public spending now directly concerns the question of what cultural infrastructure the state and municipalities intend to preserve in the long term.