Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the French Institute: “Crying out against culture has long-term consequences”

Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the French Institute, in Paris, March 7, 2024. STÉPHANE GEUFROI/“OUEST FRANCE”/MAXPPP

Appointed head of the French Institute in 2021, Eva Nguyen Binh has been reappointed for a second term in 2024. While the subsidy of this public institution responsible for implementing France's foreign cultural policy under the aegis of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture has fallen by 5.5% in 2025 and while its objectives and performance contract was renewed on Friday, July 18, its president explains to Le Monde the challenges of cultural diplomacy in a period of geopolitical tensions.

Read the interview with Eva Nguyen Binh (in 2022): Article reserved for our subscribers “France’s cultural influence is not a given”

Does the reduction in your grant force you to review your priorities?

I can't say it hasn't affected us. But the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which provides us with this subsidy for public service expenses, has done everything to protect us, so I'm not complaining. We have a budget of €45 million, and we absorbed this 5.5% drop by acting on our margins and relying on the reorganization of the Institute carried out since my arrival. But I remain vigilant, because we have no visibility on 2026. There will come a time when choices will be difficult to make.

You have 81.78% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.