Press release: Accord Majeur 2026
A day of anger at Accord Majeur: This year, Accord Majeur’s member organisations had hoped to ‘stand up for public services’ against a backdrop of an already ongoing crisis.
Alas, the Ministry of Culture chose this very moment to announce further budget cuts in a sector already on the brink of collapse. That is why we decided to make a strong statement about the now complete breakdown of trust with the Government by walking out whilst the Minister’s representative was speaking – the Minister herself not even deigning to honour us with her presence, assuming indeed that the Ministry of Culture is still capable of pursuing any political agenda at all.
Whilst many of the independent teams, ensembles and collectives, festivals, multidisciplinary venues, opera houses and orchestras that bring heritage and contemporary music to life on a daily basis are already on their last legs after several years of funding cuts, the drastic cuts implemented from spring 2026 onwards and the new cuts announced this July spell the end of our country’s cultural policy.
This policy is no longer directed by the Ministry of Culture, but decided behind closed doors at Matignon or the Élysée under the pretext of budgetary savings, even though culture accounts for less than 1 per cent of the state budget and without, moreover, taking on politically sensitive decisions that can sometimes be costly, such as the ‘Pass Culture’ scheme.
The new cuts announced will destabilise an ecosystem in which all stakeholders are interdependent and will only serve to worsen the situation for everyone, ultimately to the detriment of our fellow citizens.
The new cuts announced will destabilise an ecosystem in which all stakeholders are interdependent and will only serve to worsen the situation for everyone, ultimately to the detriment of our fellow citizens.
In light of this new situation, we hereby reiterate the demands we have put forward, together with our colleagues from other fields of artistic creation, to the President of the Republic, namely:
- A moratorium on budget cuts that are destroying our country’s cultural fabric
- The establishment, as soon as possible, of an interministerial commission tasked with developing a new cultural policy in consultation with local authorities and representatives of our professions
- The provision of funding for this new policy so that our country can pursue a genuine ambition in the service of a reaffirmed cultural sovereignty
The time has come to make real political choices to ensure democratic vitality, social cohesion and our society’s ability to imagine its future.
AFO, FEVIS, France Festivals, Grands Formats, Les Forces Musicales, REMA, ROF, Scène Ensemble
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