From September 2021, Sébastien Cavalier chairs the Pass culture of the simplified joint-stock company (SAS). Based on rue de la Boétie, in Paris, this SAS now has 175 employees and is responsible for the implementation, management and referral of cultural operators’ offers (37,000 registered to date) of the Culture Pass. At a time when Rachida Dati, the Minister of Culture, intends to fundamentally reform this emblematic system of Emmanuel Macron’s cultural policy, generalized in May 2021 and which offers 300 euros to all 18-year-olds to finance their them, spending cultural free time. activities, Sébastien Cavalier responds to criticism and outlines the changes to come.
In a column in “Le Monde” published on October 11, the Minister of Culture announced his desire to reform the Culture Pass so that it better fulfills its public service mission. Were you involved in this reflection?
Discussions on the Culture Pass began with the arrival of Rachida Dati at the Rue de Valois at the beginning of the year. I had many discussions with his office and the technical services of the ministry. From the start, the minister expressed the importance he attaches to this Pass, but also the questions he had about this system. Because it is innovative and atypical, the Pass must be open to reflection and capable of adaptation. It is a passionate subject for which we must find a way of balance.
What do you think is most urgent to change?
We need to increase the momentum. Let’s take the example of live performance. It is true that it is not naturally popular among young people. However, one of the objectives attributed to the Pass is to encourage the diversity of cultural practices and to arouse curiosity. In recent years, we have had difficulty working hand-in-hand with actors in the performing arts. But there is no inevitability. We need to find a very pragmatic, very constructive approach so that the Pass makes young people want to go to places of theatre, music and opera.
The Pass is a common public good, a sovereign digital tool, and its success is the result of collaborative approaches involving many stakeholders. The example of the arthouse cinema sector, which was initially dubious about the Pass, is illuminating. We started working with the network of arthouse cinemas and today almost all of them are registered on the Pass. And it works. I firmly believe that we can do the same with the live show.
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