With the second round of France’s presidential election taking place this weekend, Vincent Noce considers what’s at stake for culture and the arts.
With Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen's standoff in the second round of the presidential election on 24 April, France is facing a historical challenge that will deeply impact Europe and the world.
All columnists agree: culture and the arts have been almost totally absent from the electoral campaign, which has been dominated by the war in Ukraine, the Covid crisis and, last but not least, rising living costs.
This does not mean the sector will not become a target if the far-right candidate was elected. Le Pen may have benefited from the vitriolic campaign of the more extremist anti-immigration candidate, Eric Zemmour, softening her tone and cultivating a more respectable image, but her programme remains unchanged, fuelling fears of renewed culture wars and a distrust of journalists, artists, contemporary arts centres and museums, as well as the art market...Keep reading on The Art Newspaper.
With Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen's standoff in the second round of the presidential election on 24 April, France is facing a historical challenge that will deeply impact Europe and the world.
All columnists agree: culture and the arts have been almost totally absent from the electoral campaign, which has been dominated by the war in Ukraine, the Covid crisis and, last but not least, rising living costs.
This does not mean the sector will not become a target if the far-right candidate was elected. Le Pen may have benefited from the vitriolic campaign of the more extremist anti-immigration candidate, Eric Zemmour, softening her tone and cultivating a more respectable image, but her programme remains unchanged, fuelling fears of renewed culture wars and a distrust of journalists, artists, contemporary arts centres and museums, as well as the art market...Keep reading on The Art Newspaper.