France 3.3

The performing arts constitute a major component of French cultural policy and encompass theatre, dance, music, opera, circus and other forms of live performance. The sector is characterised by sustained public intervention and a diverse ecosystem of publicly funded institutions, independent companies, festivals, producers and venues operating at national and local levels.

Public support for the performing arts is a long-standing feature of French cultural policy, closely linked to the objectives of cultural democratisation and decentralisation (see chapter 1.2). The State, primarily through the Ministry of Culture and its Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs (Directions régionales des affaires culturelles, DRACs), supports artistic creation, production and dissemination. Local and regional authorities also play a major role in funding venues, festivals, companies, and cultural infrastructure, making the sector strongly dependent on cooperation across government levels.

France has developed a dense network of publicly supported performing arts institutions. It includes national and territorial institutions operating under Ministry of Culture labels or designations, such as national theatres, national drama centres (centres dramatiques nationaux), national choreographic centres (centres chorégraphiques nationaux) and national stages (scènes nationales), alongside municipal theatres, opera houses, concert venues and other specialised structures. Independent companies and project-based organisations active across theatre, dance, music and circus complement this institutional network.

Festivals occupy an important place in the French performing arts landscape. According to the Ministry of Culture’s 2023 National Mapping of Festivals, nearly 7,300 festivals held an edition in France in 2019; 22% were classified as performing arts festivals, while more than four in ten were music festivals (Ministry of Culture, DEPS, 2023).

The case of Avignon is particularly illustrative of the sector’s diversity and internal tensions. The internationally recognised Festival d’Avignon, founded in 1947, is a major publicly supported institution presenting a curated programme of theatre, dance and other contemporary performing arts. Alongside it, the Festival Off d’Avignon has developed as a distinct and more open festival ecosystem, bringing together a large number of independent companies and venues each summer. The coexistence of the “In” and the “Off” reflects the broader structure of the French performing arts sector, combining strong public institutions with a highly fragmented independent scene. While the Off provides significant opportunities for artistic visibility, professional networking and the circulation of productions, it also exposes companies to substantial financial risks linked to venue rental, accommodation, communication costs and intense competition for audiences and programmers. Avignon therefore illustrates both the vitality of France’s festival-based performing arts economy and the structural inequalities that can affect independent artistic production. Beyond artistic presentation, festivals contribute to the circulation of works and artists and can strengthen cultural provision in territories with limited permanent infrastructure. Their economic and territorial effects nevertheless vary considerably according to their scale, funding model and local context.

Employment in the performing arts is characterised by a combination of permanent and project-based work. A distinctive feature of the French system is the specific unemployment insurance regime applicable to eligible intermittent workers in the entertainment sector (intermittents du spectacle) including artists and technicians employed under short-term contracts. This system supports employment continuity in a sector structured around discontinuous periods of work, while remaining the subject of recurring debates concerning access, labour insecurity and social protection. (see chapter 2.3),

The performing arts were particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, as venue closures, event cancellations and restrictions on public gatherings disrupted both artistic activity and employment. Emergency support included general measures such as the short-time work scheme and the solidarity fund, alongside sector-specific assistance for performing arts organisations and festivals. A particularly significant measure was the so-called “année blanche” (“white year”) for intermittent entertainment workers, which extended unemployment benefit entitlements until 31 August 2021 in response to the collapse in employment opportunities. These measures helped sustain institutions and workers during the crisis, but recovery varied across different parts of the sector. The crisis also intensified existing concerns regarding the economic vulnerability of independent companies, employment conditions and the resilience of project-based production models.

Digital technologies have also affected the production and dissemination of live performance through streaming, recorded performances and hybrid formats. However, these forms of access have generally complemented rather than replaced physical attendance, which remains central to both the artistic experience and the economic organisation of the sector (see chapter 2.4).

Overall, the French performing arts sector combines strong public intervention, a dense institutional network and a distinctive employment framework. Its main challenges concern the sustainability of artistic production, employment insecurity, inequalities in territorial access and the capacity of institutions and independent operators to adapt to changing economic, social and environmental conditions.

Data Box n°2: Structural indicators for the performing arts in France

Source: Ministry of Culture, Department for Studies, Foresight and Statistics (DEPS), Key Figures: Cultural Statistics (2025); Ministry of Culture, lists of nationally labelled cultural institutions (2024); National Mapping of Festivals (2023).