It is an extremely rare intervention during a ceremony of this kind. The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, reacted strongly Monday evening in the middle of the Molières 2023, after being challenged by two artists on stage concerning the pension reform.
Their intervention occurred a few hours after a demonstration in front of the Théâtre de Paris, where the ceremony was taking place. “Actors are not dogs, said (actor) Gérard Philipe, to denounce the precariousness in our careers,” said actress Toufan Manoutcheri. “All alone, in his good ultraliberal logic, from the top of his ivory tower, he decided to postpone the retirement age to 64,” she added, with reference to Emmanuel Macron.
“Long live the casseroles! »
The two artists then addressed the minister present in the room: “When are you going to decide to come out of your silence? Since January 13, you have not answered the questions posed by our unions on the consequences of this reform for our intermittent workers. They then left the stage, launching “Vivent les casserolades! “.
Seconds later, Rima Abdul Malak stood up and took a microphone to defend her record. “Usually, the minister’s role is to sit around and say nothing. But, there, it is not possible, ”she said. “This sentence by Gérard Philipe, it dates from 1957. There was not even a Ministry of Culture at the time (created two years later)”, she added.
“My door is open” launches the minister
“Today, there is a Ministry of Culture which defends loud and clear the French cultural exception, which defends the system of intermittency which is a source of pride for our country. You have a ministry which provided massive aid during the (health) crisis to support you all, ”insisted the minister. “You have a minister at the head of this ministry who released a historic budget (…) For inflation and the energy bill, I released exceptional aid to help the most fragile structures,” said she continued.
The minister also accused the unions of having decided to cancel two meetings with her themselves, including one scheduled for April 27. “There is still time to change your mind, my door is open,” she concluded. Both the two artists and the minister were applauded by the audience.