The protesters occupied the Théâtre National de l’Odéon in Paris on November 11 to protest the government’s continued closure of arts and cultural facilities.
Since the end of October last year, France ordered the closure of cultural venues due to the Epidemic, the arts workers have recently launched a national theater occupation to express their dissatisfaction and demand the government to reopen, and the scale has been expanding.
Yang Yilin, a Taiwanese actor in France who participated in the occupation, said in an interview with the Central News Agency that because of the epidemic, performance opportunities have been almost halved, and even though senior workers may not necessarily face unemployment immediately, for theater students or new generation theater workers, their careers may be cut short, “so I understand why many students are actively participating “.
Yang Yilin emphasized that her voice is not just for the theater or film industry, but for the overall development of arts and Culture. “Arts and cultural venues have been shut down for so long, and as one of the members of the larger arts and cultural environment, I hope to gather forces to make the country face up to the problem of arts and cultural disconnection.”
Yang Yilin admits that she is not necessarily asking the government to immediately reopen theaters at a Time of epidemic tension, but she wonders why shopping centers, department stores and churches where crowds gathered late last year were able to reopen, while art venues that could be kept at a safe distance were still forced to close.
The spontaneous movement officially began on March 4 at the Théâtre national de l’Odéon in Paris. A few days later, a dozen students of the performing arts responded, carrying slogans such as “Necessity to open”, “Life without culture is doomed to collapse”, and “If you don’t open, we’ll come to your house (Minister of Culture) Bachelot! ” and other slogans, they entered and occupied the Théâtre national de la Colline, located on the east side of Paris.
The Théâtre national de Strasbourg then joined the ranks, equaling the capture of all French national theaters except for the Comédie-Française.
Today, the occupation has become more and more intense, with theaters and performing arts workers in at least 30 cities across the country now joining the ranks. Karine Huet, deputy general secretary of the SNAM-CGT, the French general union involved in the Odéon occupation, told the French press: “For us, it’s a national movement. Many local unions have responded, things are starting to move, and they are starting to organize.”
Many theater management not only supported but also cooperated with the occupation, with David Bobée, the new director of the Théâtre du Nord in Lille, stressing in a press release that he “fully supports this new action” and through it the government’s dialogue with labor. “We have the same goal: to bring back the performing arts as soon as possible”.
For his part, Wajdi Mouawad, Director and Director and Playwright of the National Theatre of Colin, said: “In dialogue and trust, the Theatre de Colin supports the students’ action. This is their Home. Our responsibility is to listen, to understand them, and to encourage them to think.”
InterLuttants du Nord, a platform for performing arts workers, issued a press release on the 11th, “This occupation…we are collectively worried about the arts and culture, we can’t work.” They asked the government to have a clearer plan for the opening hours of cultural venues and to take care of arts workers who have lost their income due to the epidemic.
Renaud Frugier, a spokesman for the Coordination des Arts et Travailleurs d’Artistes (Coordination of Performing Arts and Specialists) in the central French city of Limoges, told the press that more than 60 local participants had decided that “the action will continue until a satisfactory response from Prime Minister Jean Castex. “.
Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot went to the Odeon theater on the 7th to talk to the participants and said he would keep the lines of communication open. But Bachelot later stated during a consultation at the National Assembly on the 10th that occupying the theater “is not a good way, it’s not working. This is dangerous…it will threaten the fragile monuments.”
She also reiterated the government’s support for the arts and culture industry, which has been hit hard by the epidemic: “This is France’s strength, and no other country in the world supports culture as much as we do,” she said, stressing that she would work to defend the rights of theater workers.
Protesters occupied the Théâtre National de l’Odéon in Paris on November 11 to protest the government’s continued closure of arts and cultural facilities.
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