FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANçOIS HOLLANDE APPOINTS AUDREY AZOULAY AS NEW MINISTER OF CULTURE

Jean-Christophe Castelain of the Art Newspaper reports that president François Hollande hired Audrey Azoulay to replace Fleur Pellerin as the new minister of culture in France.

Azoulay, unlike Pellerin, has a background in the arts, with an expertise in cinema (Pellerin’s education is in economics). Pellerin became a part of president Hollande’s cabinet in 2014 as a consultant on cultural affairs. This appointment comes as France’s senate is considering Pellerin’s “creation, architecture, and heritage” law, which, according to the Art Media Agency, “. . . . intends to asset and guarantee the freedom of creation and modernize the protection of heritage.”