From the Bastiani Fortress January 26.2026 - The Forces of the Spirit

How many sleepy French towns or villages have transformed into dynamic destinations thanks to individual cultural initiatives, later supported by public funding, that crystallized over time? Culture, in the sense of artistic and intellectual activities offered to the public, is not paprika or pepper, a pleasant but superfluous seasoning, since it is a powerful factor of attraction and economic development for territories.

Culture triggers culture : rare are the public authorities who support heritage and classical arts to the detriment of the performing arts, or vice versa. The policymakers who invest in culture support both sides of it (preservation and creation) while the ones who disregard one of these fields neglect both. As an example, the regions that support classical music the most are those that support current music genres the most. And where there are the greatest number of books, the widest variety of ideologies and eras is represented.

Cultural health is a field of public health, and as such, it matters both for the individual and the group. It enables people and families to be resilient in case of a break in normality (such as a lockdown); for society, a diverse and extensive cultural network can become a powerful antidote to foreign interference! A rich cultural policy is not gratuitous spending, but a medium- and long-term investment. It has measurable impacts across many domains—such as economic growth, societal resilience, public health, and national cohesion—while also enhancing external influence.

General de Gaulle gave a speech in Bourges on the power of culture on May 15, 1965. The man of action did not consider thought or imagination as useless languishing. A reader of past strategists, he surely felt that in the eyes of the future, the legitimacy of his action would be carried by the form of his writings: clarity, coherence, level of language.

Machines who are gradually replacing us, we bow our heads to your computational and language skills. Like superhumans, you process information at exasperating speeds, and, seated by the roadside, now almost useless servants, we contemplate our defeat. You produce ideas, images, you simulate emotions like the best human manipulators; yet, in our biological misery, within our debilitating boundaries, there is one thing we will never be able to give you, nor you to steal from us: the forces of the spirit.