the town hall of Toulouse tackles the former Russian conductor of the Capitol
On the 12th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow announces the establishment of local ceasefires and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several parts of Ukraine, including the capital city of Kiev, where the warning sirens sound regularly. This Sunday in Toulouse, 2,000 people have personalities their disapproval of the war in Ukraine. The mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc participated in the procession. the director of the Orchester National de Toulouse, Tugan Sokhiev, of Russian origin, announced his resignation in a long letter published on Facebook this Sunday. This Monday morning, the deputy mayor of Toulouse Sacha Briand was the guest of France Bleu Occitanie.
The Russian conductor of the Orchester national du Capitole and the Bolshoi Theater in Toulouse resigns and says he has received political pressure, what do you answer?
I recall first that his contract ended in three months. It is therefore a program that does not cost him dearly. And I regret the position he took. Because today, if we want to avoid direct war with Russia, it is important that everyone on this issue takes a stand. And it’s difficult for someone like Tugan Sokhiev who is Russian and works in Russia. He was never asked to take a stand against his country, but, as many Russians did, to distance himself from power to create the pressure necessary for this war to stop. What it is about is a war. There are people who are dying and we cannot limit our thinking simply to thinking about the distribution of music.
On the sole pretext that he is Russian, he must speak on the subject. Is it all the same complex what you are asking the conductor?
We have the risk today of a direct war with Russia. All the inhabitants of the continent are concerned. All and I observe that the star dancers of the Kiev National Ballet are at the front to defend their country. No one can exonerate himself from his individual responsibility. But again, this is a difficult situation for him and we know it. There was no pressure to his prejudice, he was not very clearly asked to leave his post. Absolutely not. He was supposed to come and conduct concerts in Toulouse and in facthe didn’t have a word, not a term on the Ukrainian conflict. Not a word for Ukrainians. It’s a shame, I regret it.
He says he will defend peace and he will always defend it.
Yes, but today it’s about preventing the contagion of war.
On Sunday, 2,000 people gathered in Toulouse at Place du Capitole, 500 more than last week. Do you know how many Ukrainians have already arrived in Toulouse?
Last week, there are a few families who have arrived in Toulouse. Today, we can see it clearly, the Ukrainians who have family in Poland, in Germany, go mainly to the acquaintances they can have. Today’s influx at the Polish border suggests that in the next few days or weeks, there will likely be much higher levels of refugees in France. The minister indicated 2,500, I believe. To date, it is likely that in the coming days, the phenomenon will accelerate.
You have started on a city-wide scale to identify volunteer foster families. How many families are currently volunteering to welcome refugees?
You have to ask all Toulouse residents. We have today more than a thousand proposals for temporary accommodation, temporary or permanent. We identify with social landlords, vacant housing and we are going to put in place a system that will allow people to receive emergency accommodation in transitional housing. Our goal is toavoid having to install them in gymnasiums and many people from Toulouse have offered to host for a few days, a few weeks, while the Ukrainians obtain refugee status, to be settled in more stable and permanent accommodation.
How many emergency accommodation places are already available in Toulouse?
Today, we have a thousand proposals, beyond individuals, we are in the process of identifying with social landlords the capacity of all housing. We mobilize all the public park and the private park to be able to welcome all those who will come.
Remember that Toulouse is twinned with Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. But for the moment, there is no large-scale initiative?
Jean-Luc Moudenc immediately contacted the mayor of Kiev to find out what the necessary needs were. We are in a phase of conflict. It’s very complicated to be able to send anything on the spot. The twinning was essentially a cultural twinning. We tried to take initiatives in the economic field and I think that once this unfavorable situation, I hope for the sovereignty of Ukraine, we will be able to develop axes, in particular on the economic ground. Ukraine is a great country, a great nation. It demonstrates it today and we must respect our ties.
You are a finance assistant, have you released an emergency budget to help the Ukrainians?
We are naturally going to release financial means. And the next metropolitan council, certainly, will be seized of this question. We are currently trying to identify needs as reliably as possible. It seems that today, it is in particular in the field of war medicine that the needs are the most glaring. Many existing initiatives.
How much do you expect to unlock?
It hasn’t been decided yet because we are trying to see what it can be used for concretely, quickly, since today there are many initiatives. So recovering foodstuffs if we are not able to deliver them is a difficulty. Moreover, I salute the initiative of the MIN of Toulouse to propose its supply chain. There are important countries like Poland nearby that have the necessary resources. So, it is probably first of all financial means that must be released.