MUNICIPALES Nîmes: Franck Proust and David Tebibs unprecedented proposals on culture

A comedy club, the renovation of the Natural History museum, the “off” festival of Nîmes — This Wednesday, the head of the Tout Nîmes list, Franck Proust, presented his project for culture along with his future deputy, in the event of the elections on March 15 and 22, David Tebib.

Holding a press conference for an hour on culture in Nîmes without mentioning bullfighting or Romanity? It’s possible. During Jean-Paul Fournier’s 25 years in office, Romanity was one of the cornerstones of his cultural policy, with constructions such as the Museum of Romanity. In 2020, the president of Usam, David Tebib, was a candidate in the municipal elections. Culture played an important role in his campaign. “Culture saved me,” says the entrepreneur from Chemin-Bas, who once ran a video club.

David Tebib: “We will go for the unexplored”

For the 2026 elections, David Tebib has committed to the LR-Horizons-UDI candidate, Franck Proust. He is number 9 on his list. “David Tebib has this passion, this desire. Culture is a delegation on which he has worked a lot. On March 23, after the elections, he will be operational,” assures the head of the list. The cultural program of “Tout Nîmes” revolves around a principle: “the renovation of buildings and living spaces, but also the creation and strengthening of existing events.” The goal: “Reflect a current culture that promotes Nîmes and its people. We will go for the unexplored,” promises David Tebib.

Regarding the works, the list proposes to renovate the Bernadette-Lafont theater while continuing the process of national stage labelling. In the same vein, Franck Proust also proposes the renovation of the Cloître des Jésuites which houses the Natural History museum, with an impressive African collection. “Today, this space serves only school tourism. It could be completely rethought, completely unexploited, and valued. This would also help revitalize Boulevard Amiral Courbet,” adds Franck Proust.

An “Odéon comedy club”

David Tebib proposes to transform the Odéon theater into a stand-up stage: “Odéon comedy club,” inspired by the Jamel Comedy Club, about which David Tebib explained his approach. “This would allow us to detect talents, promote youth, our school students.” Another festival, that of Nîmes, the summer one, with its concerts: “Not all Nîmes residents have access to it. We could imagine an off festival with the implementation of downtown animations following the model of Nîmes Thursdays.” A new festival would also be created focusing on denim jeans: “big brands are already interested, they could financially contribute to the organization of this three-day event.”

David Tebib also puts youth at the heart of his concerns by proposing, for example, a contest for the best manga to “highlight our talents by rewarding the best drawings and comics.” In the same vein, “Agora des influences” would be created, as well as “L’élan nîmois.” A final project aims to “highlight young talents from the city who would become ambassadors of the territory.” The selection would be made through an independent committee that would award mentoring courses and a scholarship. This is unprecedented. There is no such program in France. The question remains whether the people of Nîmes will choose to implement it on March 15 and 22.