France's Avignon festival opens with calls to block far right and save culture

Organisers of the annual Avignon Theatre Festival have reiterated a call to block the far right in the upcoming French legislative elections, which start on Sunday – a day after the event opens.

Festival artistic director Tiago Rodrigues said it was a time to "defend democracy" at a press conference calling for a united front against extreme-right political groups.

The far-right National Rally is polling strong ahead of the vote, which will be held on 30 June and 7 July at same same time the festival will be running.

As a Portuguese citizen, Rodrigues cannot take part in the vote but he said it was part of his responsibility to "encourage everyone to vote".

Rodrigues said the festival embodied "democratic, popular, republican, environmentalist, feminist and anti-racist" values.

President Emmanuel Macron's decision to call the elections after dissolving parliament, following the RN's score in EU elections, prompted reactions from many in the cultural sector.

Representatives have organised rallies and petitions against the rise of the far right in recent weeks.

Beacon for culture

As the son of a journalist forced to leave Portugal in the 1960s "to escape the persecution of the fascist dictatorship" under António de Oliveira Salazar, Rodrigues said he is well aware of what rise of the far right could mean.

He referred to France as "a beacon for the cultural world" that needed to be protected, and warned that financial support for the culture sector – which employs hundreds of people coming from France and across Europe – could be under threat.

Without public money a festival like Avignon "would not possible" he said.

The festival is needed "more than ever" – especially in light of the political situation in France.

"At a time when we see a very polarised society, where speeches are overly simplified, the Avignon festival can contribute to maintaining the diversity of expression and the capacity for debate," Rodrigues said.

Cultural sector mobilised against far right

The president of the festival's board of directors, Françoise Nyssen, echoed this stance and called culture "one of our greatest assets" which "allows us to address the complexity of the world and diversity".

Several unions from the culture industry have joined forces to organise a demonstration on Saturday in Avignon, on the sidelines of the opening of the festival.

This comes after a demonstration last week organised by 15 unions to protest over what they say would be a dismantling of publically-funded cultural services under a far-right government.

"For the far right, culture is propaganda," said Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT trade union at the demonstration in Paris.

Spanish language in spotlight

Amid the politics, the Avignon festival, in its 78th year, will open as usual, with Spanish as the guest language.

Twelve shows planned featuring artists from 11 countries including Spain, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Uruguay.

Back at Avignon for her tenth performance is Madrid-based director and actress Angélica Liddell, whose rendition of Damon: Bergman's Funeral, created for the 2024 edition was inspired by Ingmar Bergman's screenplay for his own funeral.

It is staged in French, Spanish and Swedish, with actors from her Madrid company and performers from the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden.

For the first performance outside Spain, the Centro Dramatico Nacional will present Chela De Ferrari's La Gaviota.

The Peruvian director has chosen an adaptation of Anton Chekov's The Seagull with a cast primarily made up of blind or visually impaired performers.

Tiziano Cruz from Argentina is present with Soliloquio and Wayqeycuna - the second and third parts of an autobiographical trilogy he wrote after the tragic death of his sister in 2015 as a result of medical negligence.

The artist uses theatre and his local native language to raise awareness of discrimination of indigenous people in Argentina.

In all, there are 35 plays and performances in the programme – all of them with subtitles in English and French, as well as two exhibitions.

The Avignon Theatre Festival runs from 30 June-21 July, with the parallel "Off Festival" from 3-21 July.