French cultural governance is characterised by a high degree of transversal co-operation between ministries, levels of government and public agencies. This inter-institutional approach is rooted in the principle that cultural policy is not the exclusive responsibility of the Ministry of Culture, but a shared field of action involving multiple public actors and policy sectors.
At national level, several ministries contribute directly to cultural development. The Ministry of National Education plays a central role in arts and cultural education, jointly defining curricula and funding school-based cultural activities with the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs is responsible for cultural diplomacy and the international promotion of French culture, working closely with the Institut français, the main operator of France’s external cultural policy. The Institut français operates as a key implementing agency for both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture in the conduct of France’s international cultural policy. Its missions include supporting and coordinating the French cultural network abroad; assisting French artists and cultural and creative industries in their international development; fostering dialogue between cultures and societies; and promoting the French language and multilingualism.
Other ministries also intervene in specific cultural domains, including the Ministry of Health through hospital-based cultural initiatives, the Ministry of Justice through cultural programmes in prisons, the Ministry of Agriculture through socio-cultural education in agricultural schools, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research through scientific culture and research partnerships. These collaborations are formalised through interministerial agreements that are regularly updated and implemented at territorial level through decentralised services, notably the Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs (DRACs) and educational rectorates.
A particularly structured area of transversal co-operation concerns arts and cultural education (Éducation artistique et culturelle – EAC), jointly coordinated by the Ministries of Culture and National Education. This long-standing partnership has led to the development of shared programmes, co-funding mechanisms and national strategies aimed at widening access to culture for children and young people throughout the country.
Institutional cooperation in this field was strengthened with the creation of the Haut Conseil de l’éducation artistique et culturelle (HCEAC) in 2005, jointly chaired by the Ministers of Culture and Education. The Council contributed to defining national orientations in the field of cultural education and promotes cooperation between the state, territorial authorities and cultural actors. The council has now been trasnformed in a Interministéral delegation for artistic and cultural education, since 2025.
In recent years, this cooperation has been reinforced through the national objective of “100% EAC”, which aims to ensure that every young person benefits from a coherent artistic and cultural pathway throughout their education. This policy combines school-based activities, encounters with artists and cultural institutions, and opportunities for individual artistic practice. It is implemented through close collaboration between schools, DRACs, local authorities, associations and cultural institutions.
The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of National Education also jointly support schemes such as Pass Culture, generalised in 2021, which seeks to encourage young people’s participation in cultural life by facilitating access to cultural activities and institutions (see chapter 5.1). More broadly, arts and cultural education has become a key instrument for promoting cultural democratisation, social inclusion and territorial equality.
Transversal co-operation also extends to territorial authorities through a dense network of contractual arrangements between the state and regions, départements and municipalities. These include cultural development agreements, joint funding schemes and long-term planning instruments such as State–region project contracts. Dedicated co-financing mechanisms complete this shared governance model, like the Regional Funds for Museum Acquisitions (Fonds régionaux d’acquisition des musées – FRAM) and the Regional Funds for Library Acquisitions (Fonds régionaux d’acquisition pour les bibliothèques – FRAB), as well as Regional Contemporary Art Funds (FRAC). In most regions FRAC are linked to specific venues where the collections are exhibited an open to the public.
Since the 1990s, this cooperative approach has been reinforced through institutional coordination bodies such as the Council for Territorial Cultural Development (CCTDC), as well as through more flexible instruments including “cultural pacts” and integrated territorial contracts. More recently, the development of intermunicipal structures (EPCI) and cooperative cultural public institutions (EPCC) has further strengthened multi-level governance by enabling the joint management of major cultural institutions and facilities.
Overall, transversal co-operation in France reflects a multi-level and partnership-based model of cultural governance, combining strong national leadership with increasingly structured collaboration between ministries, territorial authorities and cultural actors, as well as shared responsibility for funding, implementation and cultural development.
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