Mr. Frédéric Poisot, Secretary General of the Hérault Prefecture,

 Madam Minister, President of the Occitanie region, dear Carole Delga,

Monsieur le Président de la Métropole Montpellier Méditerranée, dear Michaël Delafosse,

 Monsieur le Maire de Vendargues, dear Guy Lauret,

 Madame President of France Télévisions, dear Delphine Ernotte-Cunci,

 Mr. Director of Proudreed, dear Fabien Arzur,

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Dear friends,

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It's a great pleasure for me to be here today in Vendargues for the inauguration of the new V STUDIOS studios, winners of the France 2030 award.

 The form it will take in a few moments, with the planting of this first tree, immediately affirms two strong dimensions of the project:

- firstly, its place in space, with a strong commitment to ecological exemplarity;
 - secondly, its place in time, with a clear commitment to sustainability.

Space and time are two of the central ambitions we have at the General Secretariat for Investment, at Matignon, for France 2030:

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- support the development of our regions, throughout France,
- accelerate the transformation of our French nuggets to prepare for tomorrow's world.

The V STUDIOS project is the winner of our “Grande Fabrique de l'image” call for projects, launched with the support of the Caisse des Dépôts and the CNC.

 France 2030 means €54 billion to prepare France for the challenges of the future. It also means €1 billion specifically dedicated to culture.

 It's an unprecedented effort on the part of the French government, without parallel anywhere in the world.

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The plan was announced by the French President in October 2021. It is in line with the future investment programs. The process was preceded by a transparent report by two former prime ministers, Michel Rocard and Alain Juppé, who invited us to “tear ourselves away from the tyranny of the short term”. What better message for public action?

 The Culture section of France 2030 is deployed with two tools:

- on the one hand, a strategy for accelerating the cultural and creative industries, which seeks to support innovation in the service of cultural democratization and audience expansion. We are supporting the digital and ecological transitions in culture, but we are also aiming for export support, a greater presence in the regions and greater structuring of the industry;

 - secondly, the Culture de France 2030 project, which aims to put our country at the forefront of tomorrow's cultural content production. This involves preserving creative freedom, asserting the importance of cultural sovereignty and diversity, and nurturing future nuggets among cultural companies. We are taking action in the fields of cinema, audiovisual and video games with the Grande fabrique de l'image, as well as in the field of immersive culture.

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Why include culture in the France 2030 program?

 Because the cultural and creative industries are essential and strategic.

Essential, of course, in everyone's life. Culture is our relationship with beauty, with our humanity. It's what connects us, what moves us, what uplifts us.

 It's also strategic for our economy: CCIs account for over 2% of GDP, as much as the agri-food industry and twice as much as the automotive industry.

Strategic for our society too: with strong social and territorial cohesion at stake, as well as representation of the movements that run through our society. This is particularly true of the film and audiovisual industries.

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Finally, it's French excellence and a key to our international influence. This was particularly evident this summer with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, broadcast by France Télévisions, which showcased all our cultural industries. The spectacle of beauty united us and made us proud. We were brought together by shared references. Everyone felt represented and included.

Celebrating what brings people together; creating communion and harmony: this is one of the great missions of culture. And it's a key mission in the age we're entering.

For all these reasons, France 2030 wanted to invest in the cultural field.

In three years, we have deployed some thirty schemes, received over 1300 applications, and nominated over 500 winners in 16 regions, including 4 overseas. Half of our winners are located outside the Paris region.

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Within the plan, the Grande Fabrique de l'image is the emblematic mechanism for supporting the cinema.

Our ambition is to double filming capacity in France and double the number of people entering the image and sound professions, with a view to broadening recruitment pools and providing a more faithful reflection of the diversity of French society. We are fully committed to fighting against the temptation of the “entre-soi” attitude that can sometimes pervade the film and audiovisual world.

We have been selective in our choice of projects. We have been exacting when it comes to environmental issues, financing and commercial prospects. We'll be just as demanding when it comes to monitoring projects.

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I'd like to congratulate all the teams around Laurence SCHWOB who made it possible for this project to win France 2030.

Of the 38 applications submitted for the film studios, only 11 were selected, representing a selectivity rate of 29%. V Studio was one of them. The jury particularly appreciated the technical quality of the project, as well as the links it forged between manufacturing and training issues, and the fact that it was part of a major regional dynamic.

We are supporting the project to the tune of nearly €6 million.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 11 winners of the Grande Fabrique de l'image in the Occitanie region, which is so active in its policy in favor of CCIs, and in particular the moving image industry.
 

Our support goes to :
- film studios with your neighbors Pics Studio in Saint-Gély-du-Fesc, Fabrègues and Pérols ;
- digital studios, with 4 winners (TAT Studios in Toulouse, The Game Bakers, Mathematic and The Yard in Montpellier);
- training, with 5 projects supported (two in the filming sector with Travelling in Montpellier and Sète and DEFI Production in Toulouse, and three in the digital sector with Audio Workshop and Artfx in Montpellier and Idem Formation in Le Soler near Perpignan).

Agreements have now been signed with the region's 11 prizewinners. A total of €52 million has already been committed in Occitanie. This represents a quarter of the commitments made to date at national level. To date, the region is the second-largest recipient of support after the Île-de-France region.

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