25th anniversary of the Cooperative Credit Foundation

Mr President, dear Jean-Claude DETILLEUX,
Madam Director-General,
Ladies and gentlemen,

“Foundation / Credit / Cooperative”: each of these three terms
juxtaposed that make up your name, has its importance and its
meaning. It is in the image of your values and it roots your action
in this social economy of which you are, for no less than one
quarter of a century, a pioneer actor.

"FOUNDATION"
Yes, you do well as a founder, that is to say a builder
projects. In the term “Foundation”, we mean of course the gift, the
donation, generosity: you subscribe, there, in the great
humanist and even philanthropic tradition, and you are at the service of
each.

But in no case is it a question of spending at a loss, of dispensing
or dissipate money and energies, but I also hear in
“foundation” a willingness to base, establish projects on
solid and stable, in the long term. This is the mission you have
set, and that you fill with the success that everyone knows.
Because you are committed to the fundamentals and pay particular attention to
always focus action on the most cutting-edge research. By this, you
help build the foundations of tomorrow’s economy, which must
be a knowledge-based economy, that is, an economy of
culture. We have seen this very recently in Avignon, a
city you know well you who support its great Festival of
on the occasion of the 2nd edition of the
Culture.

But for you, it is fundamental, precisely, not to exclude anyone from the
for superficial reasons, such as a
handicap. As MONTAIGNE says with accuracy and
deep humanity, each man carries within him the whole form of
human condition”. And I am in favour of
I call “culture for everyone” whatever it is, wherever it comes from, it’s
why I particularly appreciate your patronage for
I would like to encourage everyone. As a general rule, patronage
cultural offer. You have chosen to promote
access to this cultural offer, particularly from the point of view of equality
and it is a promising way to allow the encounter
between all audiences and the supply of culture.

All your actions bear witness to this great struggle against exclusion, which
is often cultural, due to the social intimidation
culture. This summer, that is how we
met at the Cité Nationale de l'Histoire de l'Immigration,
as part of the "Gates of Time" operation, hundreds
children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods in educational workshops, for their
discover this essential part of our shared memory.

"CREDIT"
But we also know that there is no foundation without credit, in the
meaning not only of a background, but also and perhaps especially
trust, credibility. And that credit is always reciprocal. It’s
both what you are made of and what you grant
courageously to the audacity of the artists and the 8000 or so
cultural organizations that you contribute to living and growing. You
are the banker of cinemas, theatres, dance companies, but
you are also their trusted partner. They know they can
rely on you. In this time of crisis, this
is all the more remarkable.

COOPERATIVE
Not only do the foundations exist if they are credible, but
of course, provided they are sustainable. However, nothing is
more sustainable than collective – and cooperative. We know that,
especially since ROUSSEAU, what is established by force, what passes
It is the contract, the conventions, the covenants, the
cooperation, which is the foundation of sustainable action. Together with your partners, you
know how to work together and thereby contribute to the quality of our
living together, a collective way of playing while remaining attentive, I
said it to the singularities of each.

These 25 years of the Crédit Coopératif Foundation are therefore much more than a
simple anniversary: they mark the celebration of the three principles that
you have been able to live, prosper and register sustainably in space
for a quarter of a century. Through the articulation of these three requirements
you are truly exemplary of the growing
that patronage is legitimately taking place in the knowledge economy
and culture. Your entire history shows it, your ambition is to
ensure a place and a culture for everyone, and redesign each
through trust and cooperation, the inalienable value of which is
carries each of the forms, diverse, varied, «of the human condition».

In short, you could not have chosen better to celebrate this moment than
this magnificent DAPPER Museum, whose exhibition The art of being a
man» seems, in a way, to summarize your commitment around
the three principles of solidarity that, beyond the name, the reality of the
Crédit Coopératif Foundation.

Thank you.