Europe exists because we recognize ourselves in it, because the links between people are alive and above all as long as we want them to be.

You are director of the Rennes-based cultural establishment, Les Champs Libres. Can you present its project and actions?

Les Champs Libres is a cultural establishment located in Rennes that brings together a large library, the Musée de Bretagne, a science space, a planetarium, meeting areas such as a café, an auditorium.... Les Champs Libres welcomes over a million visitors a year. Its ambition is to be a public space for culture and knowledge, as close as possible to the daily lives of the people of Rennes and the metropolitan area. We are a place of everyday life, marked by multiple uses. We also try to be as open as possible to initiatives from civil society. Last but not least, we're committed to giving a place to young people, to giving them a voice. A case in point is the Nos Futurs event, co-sponsored with Le Monde newspaper, during which we give the keys to Champs Libres to young people, in all their diversity, so that they can share with the general public the subjects that are close to their hearts.

As the main partner of the Rennes leg of the European Dialogues (November 7 - December 1), Les Champs Libres is hosting the majority of the event's highlight sequences on November 29 and 30 and December 1. How did the collaboration with the Institut français and other Rennes-based operators come about?

The initiative comes from the Institut français, which has forged a long-standing partnership with the city of Rennes. When the initiative was launched, I was asked to speak in Vilnius at the end of 2023, at the first Dialogues européens event on the subject of "What can culture do in the face of war?". I then responded positively to the proposal to host the French leg of this first series of Dialogues in Rennes. The opportunity to hear the great voices of Europe is a tremendous opportunity for us. Firstly, because at a time when we are being directly shaken up by the geopolitical context, it is not possible to stay away from knowledge of the issues at stake and not listen to those who have the expertise as well as more immediate experience. Vilnius also made me realize that we all have a role to play, and that our actions, taken together, make sense and say something about what we value collectively. I was also overwhelmed by the exchange with colleagues from all over Europe, and particularly from Eastern European countries, who were directly confronted with the worry of what a Russian victory would entail. These are moments that move us, move our way of looking at the world and our centers of interest. On my return, I shared this experience with those involved in culture and higher education in Rennes. I was surprised to discover that many of them already had links with Eastern Europe, on different scales, all of them very fertile. The programming of the Rennes sequence reveals these links more than it has instigated them.

I'm convinced that Europe, like democracy, only lives, will only survive if people continue to believe in it.

Exchanges will be devoted to the challenges currently facing European societies and states, particularly in geopolitical terms. What are the issues at stake in the sequences you are organizing?

Three types of sequences are proposed. First, there's the French Institute's proposal, essentially made up of round tables that will enable us, here in Rennes, to hear the great intellectual voices of Europe and open up to the world. Then there's the program put together by Rennes' cultural and academic players, which will put us on the pulse of the artistic production of creators from Eastern Europe throughout the month of November. We begin on November 5, at the initiative of the Travelling festival, with the film, Se souvenir d'une ville, about Sarajevo in the presence of the director. This will be followed by performances by the TNB, the Orchestre National de Bretagne, the Centre de Production de la Parole contemporaine and libraries.... Finally, at Champs Libres, we've been offering a whole series of events since October. We inaugurated the "Ukraine, vision(s)" exhibition, featuring photographs by the MYOP collective in dialogue with texts by young Ukrainian writers. We'll also be hosting two lecture-concerts dedicated to Ukrainian and Baltic composers, as well as a number of meetings, the first of which will focus on "la guerre dans les têtes" (the war in people's heads), in the presence of scriptwriter Simon Rochepeau and essayist Romain Huët. We'll finish on December 1 with a sequence dedicated to Ukrainian men and women, during which we'll present, for example, a choreography by Ukrainian dancer living in Rennes Olga Dukhovna.

The first surprise was ultimately the extent, the solidity of the existing links between civil societies. These links may be invisible, but they are solid, and for me this is the first great reassurance and a reason to rejoice. Our professional backgrounds and projects are intertwined and hybridized. It's very fertile ground that can't easily be destroyed. But, of course, it's also a question of getting to know each other better, because Europe is multiple and diverse, and, as Paul Ricoeur reminded us, it's essential that "we exchange our memories". I'm convinced that Europe, like democracy, can only survive if people continue to believe in it. Democracy doesn't exist if people no longer believe in it. It's the same for Europe. Europe exists because we recognize ourselves in it, because the links between people are alive, and above all, as long as we want it to exist. In my opinion, we are fully playing our part by proposing these moments of encounter, of inter-knowledge, of shared desires. We assume our responsibility, from where we are, to preserve, consolidate and defend such strong heritages as Europe and democracy.

At Champs Libres, our challenge is to share with the general public or, to put it another way, among all of us who make up society.

Entitled What do Ukrainians dream of? the final sequence at Champs Libres will give the floor, as you said, to Ukrainian civil society. Is it important not to limit the European Dialogues to discussions between experts?

This is very important to us at Champs Libres. Dialogue between experts has plenty of other spaces to organize itself. At Champs Libres, our challenge is to share with the general public or, to put it another way, with all of us who make up society. In this sharing, it's unthinkable that we could talk about Ukraine, talk about the war, without giving a voice to the Ukrainian men and women living in Rennes, all the more so as we are fortunate to have a very dynamic association, Solidarité Bretagne-Ukraine, which has been a driving force behind some exciting proposals. When talking about the Dialogues, the Institut français used the term "enclosure", and in my opinion, the enclosure represents, par excellence, a place where everyone has something to say. For us, the challenge is to create this peaceful enclosure, without which we can't discuss, build and live together.