Emblematic of the municipality of Ettore, the two festivals are on the agenda for summer 2026, as everything was already agreed upon before the elections. But questions remain.
If the program of events for this month of May and the weeks to come seems identical or almost identical to that of previous years, there is nothing abnormal about it: everything was decided by the former municipality. This is a situation that the newly elected officials will have to deal with initially.
In cities conquered by the Rassemblement National, culture remains a sensitive subject. In Carcassonne, Vauvert, decisions have already been made regarding budget cuts for several festivals. Whether due to budget rationality or dogmatism, it is a different debate. In Agde, the first seaside resort in France, questions about the subject arise, particularly around two emblematic events of the Gilles D’Ettore era then Sebastien Frey, the Hérault cinema festival and the floating stage on the Hérault River.
On Monday, May 4, Mayor Aurélien Lopez Liguori was quick to dispel rumors circulating, especially on social media. “Agde is a cultural city and we have a beautiful offering,” he believes, while cautioning: “There is no question of eliminating (events), but rather, at least initially, reducing the scale and above all putting an end to certain ‘habits’ that I do not wish to endorse.”
Reducing the scale, it cannot be clearer. “By this summer, we must make €2 million in savings in the city’s budget,” Aurélien Lopez Liguori announced. After the publication of a recent circular from the state mentioning a decrease in tax revenues by around €1.3 million, the city has also learned that the fine it pays annually to compensate for its lack of social housing will increase from €700,000 to €1.4 million per year. Not a trivial amount.
In this context, several decisions have been made by the elected officials. Concerning the Hérault cinema festival, the event will be reduced from a week to three days, from Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21. Patrick Jorge will still be in charge of this highly appreciated public event, where films can be viewed for free during the day and evening at the Palais des Congrès du Cap d’Agde. What will the future hold? It is known that the service provider would like to continue its mission in the coming years, even in a different form.
Regarding the floating stage, the decision to retain the concerts has also been approved by the municipality. However, there will be a slight change: from four to three concerts this summer, with a lineup that is not yet known. “A season on the floating stage, four nights, represents a budget of around €500,000, with €300,000 for artists’ fees alone,” the mayor announced, adding, “There are certainly unavoidable expenses, but there are also savings to be made. In saying this, I am thinking of the €30,000 in beverage costs that we identified in the floating stage budget. Clearly, that is no longer acceptable.”
The city hall is considering “strengthening” the Hérault cinema festival and the floating stages with other parallel events that could be added. “We are not here to cut down culture, but to instill a real strategy with impeccable accounting,” reiterates Aurélien Lopez Liguori, reassuring on the cultural front.
