Culture is once again bearing the brunt of the French government’s attempts to reduce the national deficit. The “mission culture” which oversees cultural spending for the entire country will lose €55 million, €48.3 million of which would otherwise have been spent on maintaining heritage sites.
While economists agree that some parts of Europe are seeing the green shoots of recovery, France is still struggling with the aftermath of the recession. The latest cut continues the severe reduction already implemented in 2013, when the country’s €2.43 billion culture budget was reduced by 4.5 percent.