The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, reacted strongly Monday evening in the middle of the Molières ceremony, after being questioned 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 (French 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, referring to the president. Emmanuel Macron.
“Long live the casseroles!”
The two artists then addressed the minister present in the room: “When are you going to decide to break your silence? Since January 13, you have not answered the questions asked by our unions on the consequences of this reform for our intermittent workers”. They then left the stage by launching “Vivent les casserolades!”.
A few seconds later, something extremely rare in a ceremony of this kind, Rima Abdul Malak stood up and took a microphone to defend her record.
“Usually, the role of the minister is to sit and say nothing. But this is not possible,” she said. “This sentence by Gérard Philipe dates from 1957. There was not even a Ministry of Culture at the time (created two years later, editor’s note)”, she added.
“I have unlocked exceptional aids”
“Today, there is a Ministry of Culture which loudly defends the French cultural exception, which defends the system of intermittence which is a source of pride for our country. You have a ministry which has provided massive aid during the (health) crisis to support you all”, hammered 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” , she continued.
She 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.