Financing the Arts in France1

Abstract

France is known as being the country of cultural interventionism. This paper tries to detail sources of funding for the arts and heritage in France coming from the State, local authorities but also companies and households, showing that the part of the State is not the largest one. Nonetheless, it is vital for cultural institutions to rely on this public funding as it can be considered as a lever for other funding. And despite the official reassuring speech in France, we can fear that public funding is going to decrease for the coming years.