Editorial: Liberation

• Christelle Morançais, president of the regional council of Pays-de-la-Loire, has approved drastic budget cuts in her region, with a 62% decrease in the functioning of culture.
• Morançais advocates for a 'focus on our priority competences', although culture contributes significantly to the French economy.
• In 2022, culture contributed with 47.1 billion euros to the French GDP, seven times more than the automobile industry.
• The interpretation of large investments in polluting industries as 'reindustrialization' while making severe cuts in the cultural sector is criticized.
• Morançais is representative of a prevalent political trend in France, seeming to prefer working for a multinational in Luxembourg.

Conclusion: The editorial criticizes Morançais and other politicians who underestimate the economic and social importance of culture, and questions these leaders' preference for investing in polluting industries over supporting culture.

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