Jacques Toubon Prioritizes Continuity Over Innovation in French Cultural Policy

In an interview with Catherine Millet for artpress, French Minister of Culture Jacques Toubon outlines his approach to cultural policy, emphasizing consolidation of existing initiatives rather than introducing new ones. He reaffirms support for public commissions, galleries, and contemporary art centers. Toubon has reinforced the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume and initiated the renovation and relaunch of the Centre Georges-Pompidou. The interview covers his activities over the past eighteen months, the crisis in contemporary art, the risk of turning art centers into museums, the redevelopment of the Centre Pompidou and the coexistence of the museum and the BPI within it, and the contentious issue of museum authority over modern and contemporary art.