MUSIC VICTORIES – “I take advantage of the presence or absence of Madam Minister to claim nothing”. Jean-Louis Aubert, president of this 36th edition of the Victoires de la Musique, set the tone from his opening speech. While it has been almost a year since concert halls have been closed in France and no prospect has given them, the 3h show on France 2 was also an opportunity for the artists to challenge Roselyne Bachelot, as shown in our video at the top of this article.
“The state never gave me anything. And I gave him back a lot ”, quipped the singer and musician of Téléphone in the preamble to this musical“ bamboche ”. And to resume more seriously: “All I will ask you, Madam Minister, is to continue to take care of all those who live and work around us.”
Then it was Benjamin Biolay’s turn to take advantage of this open microphone live to insult the public authorities. Double winner of the Victory for male artist and album of the year, the singer took the time to discuss the situation of all those who work in the entertainment world: “It was not a very successful year for music ”. He then pointed out “the stunning silence of the public authorities and the people who are supposed to be our supervisory minister, for example”. “I’m waiting for someone to listen to us a little bit”, concludes the interpreter of “How is your pain”.
A few hours earlier already, at the antenna of Europe 1, the singer Benjamin Biolay had challenged the Minister of Culture after she had “rebuffed” Pierre Niney according to him. “I am particularly in favor of a debate with Madame Bachelot (…) So, yes, a somewhat open antenna, where we can talk to each other”, he proposed then.
Roselyne Bachelot backstage
Finally at another time of the ceremony, Laury Thilleman and Stéphane Bern gave the floor to Thomas Savy, clarinetist and member this Friday evening of the orchestra of the Victoires de la Musique. He also spoke directly to the tenant of the rue de Valois, on behalf of all those who work for a sector which represents nearly 50 billion euros to the country’s economy. “Can’t you hear the worries turning to despair? How to live having lost half of your income? Seeing the future darker every day? ”, He said before calling for the extension of the white year of intermittents in the show.
Earlier in the day, demonstrators from the CGT Spectacle had symbolically occupied the Philharmonie de Paris, by deploying banners “Culture sacrificed”, “Government disqualified”.
Roselyne Bachelot was not seen on the stage or in the audience of the Victoires de la Musique. But yet the Minister of Culture was there, behind the scenes of the musical Seine, as evidenced by some photos immortalized by the media present. “I’m here to build a resilient model, I work day and night for that, I stand with the artists wholeheartedly. It’s important to be there ”, she said to the Parisian.
Not sure that Benjamin Biolay, Jean-Louis Aubert and the million people who make a living from culture in France are satisfied with these few words.
See also on The HuffPost: At the 2021 Victoires de la Musique, why was there an audience despite the Covid-19?
–
