France’s CGT Spectacle on Monday called on artists, technicians and venue staff to halt performances at the Festival d’Avignon whenever Culture Minister Rachida Dati or any other government member is in the audience, intensifying a weeks-long confrontation over cultural funding. The union said it filed a pre-emptive strike notice for the entire festival, which runs 7–26 July, arguing that government-imposed “austerity” is undermining the performing-arts ecosystem. It urged companies to “refuse to play” to highlight what it describes as damaging budget cuts. Speaking a day earlier in Arles, Dati insisted she will attend the renowned theatre gathering, declaring, “I need to see the artists, their production, their art.” She dismissed the union’s stance as “sectarian” and said the festival “does not belong to a few CGT activists.” The standoff threatens to overshadow the 79th edition of France’s largest theatre festival, which is scheduled to stage 42 productions. It adds to political pressure on Dati, already criticised over a public-broadcaster overhaul and facing a potential trial in an unrelated corruption probe.