Nightclubs in France will be recognized as cultural actors

It was a long-standing demand. Finally, clubs and nightclubs will be recognized as “cultural actors” by the government. This was announced by Minister of Culture Rachida Dati via her Twitter account, following a meeting with representatives of Culture Nuit, the union of cultural and musical nighttime venues which includes many of the institutions of Parisian nightlife among its members, such as Le Badaboum, Rex Club, Point Ephémère, La Machine du Moulin Rouge, and many others.

A demand that had been lingering since the outbreak of the health crisis. Faced with difficulties due to closures and the lack of prospects for reopening at that time, a petition signed by hundreds of nightlife figures, including Bob Sinclair and David Guetta, was sent to the Ministry of Culture. Then in 2021, the Culture Club movement was launched, urging institutions to intervene to mitigate the crisis facing clubs and to grant them the status of cultural actors. The office of the former Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelor, expressed support, announcing the creation of a dedicated working group for this project, but since then, the dossier had stalled.

What does it change concretely?

Until now, public support for clubs was solely under the Ministry of the Interior, which in some difficult contexts made these establishments seem more like problems to solve than cultural resources to protect. The new status should lead to simplified access to subsidies and offer more security in this regard. As a reminder, according to the National Union of Nightclubs and Leisure Venues (SNDLL), 19% of French clubs have permanently closed their doors due to the health crisis. Many establishment owners also lament a decrease in attendance from young people since reopening. However, as the Minister of Culture emphasized, clubs are “actors that connect the territory,” playing an essential role in financing, promoting, and disseminating artists. Now, is the long-awaited improvement in operating conditions for nighttime establishments finally about to be realized?