Audrey Azoulay, a well-informed film-goer, replaces Fleur Pellerin as Minister of Culture and Communication. At 43, Audrey Azoulay is the former head of France’s Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC).
Consequently she’s totally familiar with the French film industry and media. According to Le Monde’s web-site: “industry professionals recognize her real expertise in this field.”
Her appointment as Minister of Culture increases the number of film people in key cultural positions. Guillaume Blanchot, the media and cultural industries technical adviser to the Prime Minister, also worked previously for the CNC. Régine Hatchondo, the new head of artistic creation, previously ran Unifrance (the organization responsible for the world-wide sales and promotion of French films).
Algiers voices concerns over this appointment
Audrey Azoulay is the daughter of an advisor to the King of Morocco, André Azoulay. Her appointment has been criticized by Algiers. According the Mondafrique news site, the brother and special advisor to the Algerian president, Said Bouteflika apparently deplored a lobbying manoeuvre on the part of Morocco.
Sources : francais.rt.com, lefigaro.fr, lemonde.fr, Mondafrique.com
