France 5.1

Arts and cultural education (éducation artistique et culturelle – EAC) is a long-standing priority of French cultural policy, implemented jointly by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of National Education. It aims to guarantee universal access to artistic practice, encounters with works and artists, and the acquisition of cultural knowledge, while fostering creativity, critical thinking and lifelong cultural participation.

Since the early 2000s, EAC has been progressively consolidated through national policy frameworks, notably the Parcours d’éducation artistique et culturelle (Arts and Cultural Education Pathway), introduced by the 2013 Law on the Refoundation of the School of the Republic, together with interministerial agreements and territorial cooperation schemes. The system combines formal education, extracurricular activities and partnerships between schools, artists and cultural institutions.

Recent policy developments have sought to broaden access to arts and cultural education while strengthening territorial equity and cooperation between the educational and cultural sectors. Among these developments, the Pass Culture, progressively generalised from 2021, has expanded young people’s individual access to cultural activities and resources. The 2021–2025 interministerial roadmap for arts and cultural education further reaffirmed the objective of universal access to EAC (“100% EAC“), while promoting digital cultural resources and strengthened partnerships between schools, cultural institutions and creative professionals.

Data box n°3 : Arts and cultural education in France

Sources: Ministry of Culture (DEPS), Culture chiffres (latest available editions); Ministry of National Education (DGESCO); Cour des comptes, L’éducation artistique et culturelle au bénéfice des élèves de l’enseignement scolaire (2025).

French arts and cultural education (éducation artistique et culturelle – EAC) is based on three complementary pillars: enabling all pupils to acquire cultural knowledge, encouraging artistic practice, and facilitating encounters with works of art, artists and cultural institutions. This approach reflects the longstanding objective of French cultural policy to combine equal access to culture with active participation and cultural literacy throughout compulsory education.

The current framework was progressively developed through successive interministerial initiatives. A significant milestone was the Lang–Tasca Plan (2000–2005), which strengthened the place of arts education within schools and expanded cooperation between educational institutions and cultural organisations. The system was further consolidated by the 2013 Law on the Refoundation of the School of the Republic, which introduced the Parcours d’éducation artistique et culturelle (Arts and Cultural Education Pathway) as a framework intended to ensure that every pupil benefits from a coherent artistic and cultural pathway throughout their schooling.

Institutional coordination is shared between the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of National Education is responsible for curricula, teacher training and the organisation of arts education within schools, while the Ministry of Culture provides artistic expertise, supports cultural institutions and co-finances educational initiatives. Since 2025, overall coordination has been entrusted to the Interministerial Delegation for Arts and Cultural Education (Délégation interministérielle à l’éducation artistique et culturelle – DIEAC), which oversees the implementation and monitoring of the national EAC policy across both ministries. The  Haut Conseil de l’éducation artistique et culturelle (HCEAC), created in 2005, continues to provide strategic guidance through the Charter for Arts and Cultural Education and contributes to the development of national policy priorities.

Implementation relies on close cooperation between State services, territorial authorities and cultural institutions. At regional level, the Directions régionales des affaires culturelles (Regional Directorates of Cultural Affairs – DRACs) coordinate programmes jointly with the education authorities (see chapter 1.2). They work alongside local and regional authorities, which play a central role in financing and organising extracurricular cultural activities, particularly through conservatoires, local cultural facilities and partnerships with artists. The Pôles de ressources pour l’éducation artistique et culturelle (PREAC), created in 2007, are regional resource centres that bring together schools, teacher training providers, cultural institutions and artists around specific artistic or heritage disciplines. Their role is to develop educational resources, organise professional training, and promote long-term partnerships between the education and cultural sectors.

Since the late 2010s, French policy has increasingly focused on extending universal access to arts and cultural education. The national objective of “100% EAC“, reaffirmed in the 2020–2024 and 2021–2025 interministerial policy frameworks, seeks to ensure that every young person benefits from a structured artistic and cultural pathway throughout compulsory education. Recent developments have also reinforced teacher training, expanded the involvement of artists in educational projects, and encouraged the use of digital cultural resources, while maintaining the central role of partnerships between schools and cultural institutions.

French arts and cultural education is characterised by strong interministerial governance and extensive territorial cooperation, combining national educational objectives with decentralised cultural action. The practical implementation of these principles through schools, cultural institutions and specialised educational programmes is discussed in the following sections. (See Chapters 5.2–5.5.)