France announces measures to protect cabaret and the can-can

France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati has revealed plans for the country to recognise and protect cabaret as an important form of entertainment.

The announced measures named cabaret as an art form which embodies “French culture and freedom”. Dati gave details of her ideas from the Moulin Rouge, the famous Paris cabaret venue known as the birthplace of the can-can dance.

Proposals worth €475,000 will “show support for creation”, “strengthen the visibility of cabaret” and give it its “truly deserved recognition”, Dati said.

According to the ministry across France, there are 200 cabarets which provides 5,000 jobs – including 1,600 performers. Each year there are around 2.7 million spectators creating €225 million in annual turnover.

As cabaret is a privately-run sector, it is exempt from France’s live performance tax credit. Dati said that she supports the industry’s campaign to be included in the tax benefit.

Of the nearly half a million euros added to France’s cabaret funding, the plan is for €150,000 to be used as a “support fund for the development of ‘characters’ or acts” and €75,000 allocated for “cabaret residencies”.

€200,000 have been allocated to fund events, shows and a podcast for the next cabaret season with €50,000 intended for research and publications on the art form.

Can-can culture

Additionally, Dati is supporting a bid for the can-can – the iconic high-kicking dance – to be registered with France’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage.

Last year, the Moulin Rouge celebrated its 135th anniversary of its founding in 1889. Now a tourist site, the Paris cabaret venue has seen many of the world’s most talented dancers perform across the 20th century.

Moulin Rouge owner Jean-Victor Clérico said that the plan is “first and foremost [a] recognition”. He went on to say that it “will contribute to strengthening the place of the cabaret in the French cultural landscape”.

Although the Moulin Rouge is the most famous cabaret, the ministry made note that the majority of France’s cabarets are dotted across the country’s rural communities, providing artistic revues to locals and are valuable artists outlets “open to the LGBT+ cause”.