France’s Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati held a meeting with Culture Nuit, a union representing the French nightlife industry, on April 2 to announce that clubs will now be granted “acteurs culurels” status. This title is normally reserved for individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to French culture, including musicians, filmmakers, and events among other things.
“It is important to recognize clubs and discotheques as popular cultural actors,” said Dati in a tweet. Culture Nuit, which was founded in 1952, has been campaigning for French clubs to receive cultural status for years and to receive greater support from the government.
Culture Nuit is a coalition of bars, clubs, events, and other third spaces focused on supporting France’s nightlife. At a meeting with Dati in 2021, the group launched its Club-culture movement in response to a growing number of club closures caused by the pandemic. The movement had several goals including “collective and fair distribution of electronic music rights,” preventing risks and closures, and improving security training in the industry.
Thanks to this recognition, clubs and electronic music will be considered for cultural initiatives in France. However, few details are available as yet regarding what this might mean. Clubs receiving cultural status follows Berlin’s techno music, which was granted UNESCO heritage status in March. While this will bring social and economic benefits to the city’s clubs, it is not the first time that music genres have been recognized in this way; it is worth noting that Detroit, the birthplace of techno music, has strongly contested Berlin’s claim
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