Credit: MCULT
On Wednesday 10 November 2021, Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, met her French counterpart, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, in Paris for an exchange ahead of Esch2022 - European Capital of Culture and the French presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The two ministers firstly discussed Esch2022, with which eight French municipalities of the Communauté de communes Pays Haut Val d'Alzette (CCPHVA) and several French project leaders are associated. Sam Tanson and Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin expressed their delight over this territorial cooperation and the new development prospects that are opening up, through culture, to this cross-border region with a shared past, heritage and European identity. Minister Tanson invited her French counterpart to attend the opening of Esch2022 on 26 February.
Discussions also focused on the priorities and work programme of France, which will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU from January to July 2022. In this context, the two ministers mentioned the need for a strong European culture and noted that both within the Council of the EU and in society in general, we are at a turning point, which has been amplified by the COVID-19 crisis, with a real willingness to discuss the role and place of culture in the daily life of European citizens. With the intention of adopting a bottom-up as well as a top-down approach, the French Presidency of the Council of the EU will be an opportunity to deepen work in this direction.
