At the opening of the Paris Book Festival, where Quebec is in the spotlight, Mathieu Lacombe praised Thursday evening the “great benefits” that the event promises to the Quebec literary community. In an interview, he also said he recognized the recent complaints from cultural organizations, particularly those from the performing arts, regarding the reduction in funds granted to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) in the last Quebec budget, and work towards a solution.
In other words, while local literature is experiencing its moment of glory in France, many artists still have difficulty making ends meet in Quebec. In fact, the CALQ has $160.46 million for 2024-2025, while it received $161.18 million last year, before inflation. At the same time, dance artisans, for example, have an average annual income of $22,859 to $27,334, and performance halls are still struggling to fill since the pandemic.
A demonstration is even planned for April 18 in Montreal. The organizers, including the Conseil québécois du théâtre and the Regroupement québécois de la danse, maintain that the latest budget “plunges the Quebec artistic ecosystem — institutions, companies and artists — into absolute emergency.”
The Minister of Culture says he shares their dismay: “I understand their disappointment, because I myself would have liked more [de financement] for the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. » He recalls having enhanced the existing CALQ programs by $28 million over four years, but believes that “it is not enough”.
“I know for a fact that there will be this demonstration,” he added. I am looking, right now, at how we can, from the amounts we obtained in the budget, free up new amounts that we could reinvest in the CALQ. » The minister did not, however, comment on the means he envisaged to do this.
New working group
For now, the minister has been very enthusiastic about inaugurating the Book Festival alongside his French counterpart, Rachida Dati. The event also marks “a great week of collaboration with France”, he said. Thursday, moreover, the French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, met François Legault in Quebec.
Mr. Lacombe and Mr.me Dati, for their part, unveiled a joint project to promote French-speaking content on digital platforms.
We do not yet know the details of the agreement, regarding which a press release was to be published by Friday morning. But the two States should chair a possible “working group” to find ways to “stand together” in front of Web giants, such as Netflix and Spotify, and demand better “discoverability” of French-speaking content, specifies Mathieu Lacombe.
“We want to create an international consensus to force the hand of the major platforms and legitimize the steps we are taking in Quebec with bills,” he explains. The first meeting of the said working group should take place, according to Rachida Dati, at the next Francophonie Summit, in October.
The announcement was due to take place on Friday, but Mme Dati, known in France for her explosive declarations, preceded her Thursday evening at the inauguration of the Quebec pavilion. She probably surprised the Quebec minister, who retorted with an embarrassed smile “you are perfect”, referring to her unpredictable temperament. In an interview, he still said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the French minister, at the end of a first meeting with her on Wednesday, praising “her sense of action and her frankness”.
Place for literature
Three busy days await the Quebec delegation in Paris. More than 40 Quebec authors and illustrators participate in the festival, as well as around sixty publishing houses. This is the first time since 1999 that Quebec has been in the spotlight at this event, which was formerly called the Paris Book Fair. This is the largest demonstration of its kind in the French-speaking world.
The festival intends to pay tribute both to the vitality of the young generation of authors and publishers from Quebec and to the legacy of pillars of the sector, such as Dany Laferrière and Hélène Dorion.
Among the highlights of the event, the Spotlight on Poetry panel will present the “diversity of poetry in Quebec” with eight poets, including Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay and Larry Tremblay. A tribute to Réjean Ducharme featuring Denise Desautels and Dany Laferrière will also close the activities of the Quebec pavilion on Sunday.