Stopping the loan of equipment by the Department of Hérault: a decision that does not go down well with the world of culture

Le festival Chap, à Viols-le-Fort, un des nombreux événements qui ne pourraient pas avoir lieu sans HMS. DR – DR

Le Département a annoncé l’arrêt du prêt de matériel aux acteurs culturels, le 1er octobre. Une décision qui a du mal à convaincre, que ce soit sur le fonds ou sur la forme.

By announcing the end of the Hérault Scenic Equipment (HMS) system on October 1, the Department of Hérault took those in the cultural world by surprise. Nearly 400 benefit from it each year, allowing 400,000 spectators to attend shows.

A vital aid for many, like the Chap festival which took place from April 12 to 20 in Viols-le-Fort. "This year, (HMS) represents a saving estimated at 50 000 € rental costs for us, Without this precious help, (farewell) future editions !"

A misunderstood decision

This decision was even less understood by the cultural world as it had not been mentioned in recent years. The catastrophic communication from the Department, which announced the shutdown of HMS in April, before postponing it to October 1, did not help anything.

If many festivals, companies and other cultural actors are worried, it is also because no system has been planned to replace the one which is destined to disappear. Which plunges many people into uncertainty…

"In the worst case scenario, this service would have had to be adapted or reduced, but above all not eliminated, believes François Deschamps , former director of cultural affairs at the Department, who developed the loan of equipment in the 1990s. This system quickly proved essential for many small artistic and cultural structures, particularly in rural environment".

The Department: “It’s our responsibility”

Marie-Pierre Pons is vice-president of the Department, delegated to the Department. culture.

Why do you stop Hérault Matériel Sénique ?

A rental company from Montpellier contacted us and the legal service (of the Department) considered it. that there was a fragility legal. Many departments have also stopped the loan of equipment, considering that it could be an unfair competition.

But many also continue to lend equipment…hellip;

We take responsibility for our decision. This loan had grown significantly over the years, to the point of representing 1.7 million euros; today. Is it our role to lend equipment to others? festivals that sell out the place à 40 € ? A distinction must be made between small and large structures.

Will another device replace HMS on October 1st?

We are working to find a solution but it will be in a different form, perhaps later. through intercommunalities. We have cultural conventions with territories.

The Department has stoppedé several cultural devices in recent years…

No, we transform them to make them more efficient. This is our responsibility. We are devoting 22 M€ per year à Culture. Our priority is to irrigate the territory and create social ties, particularly with the most vulnerable groups.

An article that questions

To justify the shutdown of HMS, the Department brandishes article L2222-7 of the CGPPP (General Code of Property of Public Persons), which stipulates that "provision or rental operations cannot be carried out free of charge, nor at a price lower than the rental value".

The State had however judged otherwise, as early as March 2008. Questioned on the scope of this article by an elected official, who wanted to clarify the question of the loan of equipment, he provided a clear response. "This article (L 2222-7)only covers operations involving the provision or rental of movable property in the private domain of the State. It does not apply to movable property in the private domain of local authorities. (These) therefore freely determine the conditions for making furnished property available of their private domain.

Mobilization of cultural actors this Monday, April 29

"Since we seem inaudible, let's make ourselves heard!" Many popular cultural actors ;raultais want to "remember the good memories of the Department by paying them a little courtesy visit, this Monday, April 29,   9 h 15". Just before a meeting of the departmental council scheduled for today, at 10am.

A petition entitled "Save HMS" has already gathered 4,000 signatures on the internet. "We are very worried about the major consequences of this decision on local cultural life" , write the cultural actors.

https://www.change.org/p/sauvons-herault-materiel-scenique-34

Lending is always practiced elsewhere

For François Deschamps, "the argument of unfair competition towards private providers does not hold, provided that the aid of the Department is less than 200 000 € over three years (66 670 € /year)and that it be paid as consideration for public obligations."

For him, the problem lies elsewhere. "For twenty years, legal services have become very important in communities. And as there is at the same time a search for economy, it is culture which pays the price."

The discontinuation of several measures by the Department (Colleges on tour, company residency at the Théâtre d’O, 34 tours…), in recent years, seems to argue in this direction .

If the HMS ruling raises so many questions, after eighteen years of good and loyal service, it is also because hundreds of communities in France (municipalities, communities of municipalities , departments, regions…) continue to lend equipment to their cultural actors. Without calling this system into question, and without being prosecuted in court.

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