In a tribune published in Le Monde, a group of creators including Pénélope Bagieu and Mona Chollet advocates for artist-authors to access unemployment insurance. They highlight systemic precariousness in the cultural sector, despite its significant economic weight. The text calls for full recognition of their profession.
A collective of creators, including Pénélope Bagieu, Mona Chollet, and Ernest Pignon-Ernest, publishes a tribune in Le Monde on December 15, 2025, to defend the social rights of artist-authors. They stress that « creating is a job » and that the cultural economy, which heavily relies on their work, deserves enhanced protection.
The cultural sector generates nearly one million jobs in areas such as music, contemporary art, cinema, audiovisual, publishing, and design. In 2022, it accounted for 100 billion euros in turnover. However, artist-authors only receive income upon the exploitation of their works, not for the prior research and creation time. This delay leads to extreme precariousness, without access to rights like recognition of work accidents, paid leave, or unemployment insurance.
A recent report by deputies Soumya Bourouaha (Communist Party) and Camille Galliard-Minier (Ensemble pour la République) on « income continuity for artist-authors » confirms this situation: massive inequalities, exclusion from value sharing, and a lack of social protections. Many artists turn to the active solidarity income (RSA), an inadequate safety net that creates tensions with administrations.
The signatories urge the Senate to open unemployment insurance to these professionals, to value their contribution to collective emancipation and shared imagination. Without this measure, the sector risks perpetuating a precariousness that contrasts with its economic vitality.
