French Cultural Policy and the American Mirror in the Sarkozy Era
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Review Article
French Cultural Policy and the American Mirror in the Sarkozy Era Sophie Meunier Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Robertson 437, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Although culture is not at the heart of the policy agenda of the current French administration, it will likely be affected by the Sarkozy revolution. French culture seems to be in a state of crisis, as evidenced both by the end of its ‘rayonnement’ outside of France and by its diminutive focus on the producers instead of the consumers of cultural goods. The options available for reform can, paradoxically given France’s history of policy opposition to American culture, be inspired by what is done in the United States, as is suggested by Fre´de´ric Martel’s 2006 book De la Culture en Ame´rique. A reform of French cultural policy would have implications both for foreign and for domestic policies. French Politics (2008) 6, 85–93. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200137 Keywords: arts; culture; diversity; France; Martel; Sarkozy
De la Culture en Ame´rique (Culture in America) By Fre´de´ric Martel 622 pages, Paris: Gallimard, 2006 (in French) Culture is not at the center of the policy preoccupations of the Sarkozy administration. Between public transport strikes, unhappy university students, and the difficulties of the French economy to catch up with growth in the rest of Europe, there are more immediate concerns on the policy agenda. Neither did the question of cultural policy play a particular role in the 2007 presidential campaign. Sure, artists came out publicly for their favorite candidate and may have obtained some promises in exchange, but overall the major contenders tried to avoid discussing the issue of culture as much as possible. Yet cultural policy has long been an essential tool of French foreign policy, as well as an instrument for defining the elusive ‘French identity,’ which, contrary to culture, was at the center of the debates in the presidential election. Despite this absence of prominence, it is likely that French cultural policy will be affected by the Sarkozy revolution. First, because the ‘hyperpresident’ seems to be leaving no stone unturned in his quest to remedy all policies that seem to be in crisis — and French cultural policy is certainly perceived to be in
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crisis. And second, because his personal background and inclinations, such as his professed admiration for American society and his self-identification as a proud non-intellectual, could provide an impetus for transformations in French cultural policy. This review essay considers what the Sarkozy revolution means for French cultural policy and asks whether culture could well be an example of a policy where the end of ‘American’ as an injurious epithet may indeed open up avenues for reform. Is French culture ripe for being ‘Americanized’? If it is, will it mean more McDonald’s and cookie-cutter Hollywood blockbusters, or on the contra
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