In recent years, the Ministry of Culture has considerably strengthened its territorial observation tools relating to cultural infrastructure. The former Communal Statistical Database on Cultural Facilities has progressively evolved into the “Base des lieux et équipements culturels” (BASILIC), a geocoded national database managed by the Department for Studies, Foresight, Statistics and Documentation (DEPS). Updated regularly and available in open data format, the database now references more than 73,500 cultural sites, facilities and institutions across France. It covers a wide range of cultural domains, including heritage sites, museums, libraries, theatres, cinemas, conservatoires, contemporary art centres, bookshops, cultural labels and UNESCO sites.
BASILIC also feeds the “Atlas Culture des territoires”, a digital mapping and data visualisation platform launched by the Ministry of Culture in 2022. The Atlas combines cultural, socio-economic and demographic indicators in order to analyse territorial disparities in access to culture, cultural employment, public expenditure, and cultural infrastructure. It has become an important policy instrument for territorial cultural planning and evidence-based cultural governance.
The database and the Atlas illustrate the growing importance of data-driven cultural governance in France, particularly in relation to territorial equality, cultural accessibility and the evaluation of public cultural policies.
Table 1: Cultural institutions, by sector and domain
|
Domain |
Cultural institutions (subdomains) |
Public sector |
Private sector |
||
|
|
|
Number (year) |
Trend last 5 years |
Number (year) |
Trend last 5 years |
|
Cultural heritage |
Cultural heritage sites (recognised) |
c. 45,000 protected historic monuments (2025) |
+3% |
c. 1,500 privately managed heritage sites open to the public (2025) |
+8% |
|
Archaeological sites |
c. 7,000 protected archaeological sites (2025) |
Stable |
Limited number of private archaeological parks (<50) |
Stable |
|
|
Museums |
Museum institutions |
1,220 Musées de France (2025) |
Stable |
c. 350 private museums and foundations (2025) |
+15% |
|
Archives |
Archive institutions |
104 departmental archives, 18 regional archives, 3 National Archives network (2025) |
Stable |
c. 150 private archival and heritage foundations |
+10% |
|
Visual arts |
Public art galleries / exhibition halls |
c. 90 public contemporary art institutions (FRAC, art centres, CNAP network) (2025) |
+5% |
c. 2,200 commercial art galleries (2025) |
+12% |
|
Performing arts |
Scenic and stable spaces for theatre |
c. 250 publicly funded theatres (national, regional and municipal) (2025) |
Stable |
c. 1,800 private theatres and venues |
+5% |
|
|
Concert houses |
c. 120 publicly funded concert halls and auditoriums (2025) |
+8% |
c. 500 private music venues |
+10% |
|
|
Theatre companies |
c. 1,500 publicly subsidised companies (2025) |
Stable |
c. 4,000 independent companies |
+8% |
|
|
Dance and ballet companies |
c. 300 publicly funded companies and centres (2025) |
Stable |
c. 1,000 independent companies |
+10% |
|
|
Symphonic orchestras |
32 publicly funded orchestras (2025) |
Stable |
c. 25 private/professional orchestras |
+5% |
|
Libraries |
Libraries |
c. 15,500 public libraries and media libraries (2025) |
+3% |
c. 500 private and specialised libraries |
Stable |
|
Audiovisual |
Cinemas |
c. 2,100 cinema establishments (publicly owned or municipally supported) (2025) |
+2% |
c. 4,000 privately operated cinema screens (2025) |
+5% |
|
|
Broadcasting organisations |
7 major public broadcasting entities (France Télévisions, Radio France, Arte France, France Médias Monde, INA, TV5 Monde participation, etc.) |
Stable |
c. 1,000 licensed private broadcasters and audiovisual media companies |
+15% |
|
Interdisciplinary |
Socio-cultural centres |
c. 2,000 socio-cultural centres and MJC (2025) |
+5% |
c. 1,500 independent cultural centres and associations |
+10% |
|
Other |
|
c. 120 public higher education institutions in arts, heritage and culture (2025) |
Stable |
c. 250 private arts and cultural schools |
+15% |
Source(s): French Ministry of Culture; Department for Studies, Foresight, Statistics and Documentation (DEPS); ABES – French Bibliographic Agency for Higher Education; UNESCO World Heritage Centre; UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Section; ONISEP – National Office for Information on Education and Professions; Art + University + Culture Association (A+U+C).
Notes: Private-sector figures are often estimates based on professional directories and sectoral databases (e.g. galleries, foundations, theatres, schools, and other cultural organisations). Trends are expressed as approximate changes over the 2020–2025 period and are intended to reflect overall sector dynamics rather than precise statistical variations.
Comments are closed.