The French trade union CGT is calling for a demonstration during the Avignon theater festival in the face of severe cuts to the country's cultural budget.
In a press release, the CGT criticizes the fact that culture now only accounts for 0.68 percent of the state budget, the lowest figure in the last thirty years. The 2013 culture budget has been cut by one billion euros.
Federal cultural expenditure in Switzerland amounts to around 0.4 percent, which is even lower than that of the French state. However, the comparison is flawed because in this country culture is the responsibility of the cantons and these and the municipalities bear a large part of the burden.
The Avignon Theater Festival takes place between July 5 and 26.
