The association AF&C invites the new Minister of Culture to the Assises de la Diffusion to address the challenges of live performance.
AVIGNON – Just a few months before its 60th anniversary edition, the Off festival of Avignon, through the voice of the Avignon Festival & Compagnies (AF&C) association, extends an official invitation to the new Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard. The organization invites her to attend the Assises de la Diffusion on July 7, 9, and 10 to participate in a major discussion to address the deep crises shaking the live performance sector.
After congratulating the minister on her appointment, AF&C aims to engage her on the crucial issues threatening one of the world’s largest live performance festivals. The invitation is a call for urgent collaboration to preserve the French cultural ecosystem.
A cultural giant facing multiple threats
The Off festival of Avignon is a major economic and artistic hub. With over 1,800 shows, 350,000 spectators, more than 1.6 million tickets sold, and the presence of 10,000 professionals annually, it reflects the strengths and vulnerabilities of the sector. In its statement, AF&C highlights the current difficulties, including:
– A diffusion crisis affecting the circulation of works across the territory. – An economic model weakened by the disengagement of certain local authorities, a decline in state funding, and challenges to the intermittent employment system. – The imperative of ecological transition, which imposes new constraints. – Soaring costs of production. – A growing threat to the diversity and freedom of artistic creation.
The FONPEPS, a major point of contention
One of the main concerns remains the National Fund for Employment in the Entertainment Industry (FONPEPS). On January 28, AF&C had already alerted the former Minister, Rachida Dati, about the dangers of a reform that weakens independent creation. The association criticizes the decree of December 30, 2025, which it believes undermines the fund’s primary purpose: to promote employment. The budgetary issue is also raised: the 2026 budget law reduced the FONPEPS allocation to 39 million euros, while annual needs are estimated at 60 million. This budget cut jeopardizes “the capacities for creation and hiring of small and medium-sized production structures” and, consequently, artistic diversity to which the minister, according to AF&C, is deeply committed.
A call for collaboration to defend cultural exception
Beyond financial and structural aspects, AF&C emphasizes the societal mission of live art, considering it “a bulwark against the rise of extremism” and an essential factor in “the cohesion of our society.” Facing a crisis affecting the entire sector, public and private, the association deems essential a “cross-sectoral consultation” in which the Ministry of Culture must play a central role.
The invitation extended to Catherine Pégard is not merely a formality. It is a call for dialogue and action to collectively build sustainable solutions and defend the French cultural exception. The press release is jointly signed by Laurent Domingos and Raymond Yana, co-presidents, and Harold David, AF&C’s delegated director.
The full press release is available for download (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yfkiblz996kokv6pzcyf9/CP-10-mars.pdf?rlkey=l0ppheoauqjpzk23snubo7bif&st=auxglip4&dl=0).
