Starting this summer, the City of Saint-Raphaël is launching its new cultural prize to "support artistic creation"

Less than two hours were enough last night for the elected members of the municipal council at the Estérel Arena to complete a large number of deliberations, seventy-five to be precise. This relative speed can be explained by the subjects, sometimes important, but at the same time consensual and not giving rise to controversy. This was noted by Mayor Frédéric Masquelier: "Have you ever had a municipal council with 100% of deliberations approved unanimously? This proves that we can all work together in harmony." Except that this extreme fluidity is also and above all due to the absence of most of the opposition elected members*!

"An ambitious plan to defend the French language"

The city council began several discussions in the cultural sphere, including the announcement of the launch of a brand new cultural award. The goal was "to support artistic creation and cultural expression for all," according to Guillaume Decard, deputy mayor for culture and youth. The initiative is also part of the rollout, starting this year, of an ambitious plan to defend the French language.

The competition, open to all from August 1st until March 31st of next year, aims " to reward remarkable artistic works, thus contributing to the promotion of culture and creativity beyond the borders of the metropolitan area."

For this first edition, the proposed theme is the French language, and the chosen category is painting. This will give you plenty of food for thought, because originality and innovation will be rewarded, according to the rules made available to elected officials last night, and which will be communicated to the general public very soon. " The competition is open to everyone, without age or residence restrictions," as long as you are an amateur, it is specified.

The jury, composed of six people (art professionals and elected officials), will choose the finalists in April 2026. The junior winner (7-11 years old) will receive gift vouchers worth 250 euros; and 500 euros for the adolescent category; finally, a check for 5,000 euros is up for grabs for the adult section.

*For the group My City, My Planet, Emmanuelle Cocusse was absent for professional reasons. She indicated that she had been notified too late, that is to say "on the Friday before the council, at 5 p.m., of the date of the municipal council. The group is once again asking to be notified in advance of the council meetings," she lamented.

As for the other elected member of this group, Laurent Camille Perini, who was to succeed Pierre Tomasi, has resigned. The council was thus supposed to proceed last night with the installation of the next person on the group's list, namely Malika Abbas Chohra (who was also not present last night). As for the "A New Course for Saint-Raphaël" group, Jimmy Jeanpierre was also absent.