The cultural and creative industries occupy a distinctive position within French cultural policy, at the intersection of artistic creation, economic activity and public regulation. The French approach has long combined recognition of culture’s economic contribution with the principle that cultural goods and services cannot be treated solely according to ordinary market logics. This dual perspective was notably expressed in the early 1980s under Minister of Culture Jack Lang, whose formulation “economy and culture, same fight” reflected a growing policy emphasis on the economic dimension of cultural activity without abandoning objectives of cultural diversity, artistic freedom and public access.
Since the late twentieth century, this approach has increasingly intersected with international and European debates on the “creative economy”. In France, however, the expansion of market-oriented cultural and creative activities has continued to coexist with extensive public intervention through regulation, sector-specific funding mechanisms, fiscal measures and support for non-market artistic production.
The scope of cultural and creative industries varies according to the statistical and policy framework used. In French public debate, the term generally covers sectors in which cultural content is produced and circulated on an industrial or commercial scale, including publishing and the press, cinema and audiovisual media, recorded music and video games. Broader definitions of the cultural and creative sectors may also include architecture, design, advertising, performing and visual arts, heritage and crafts. These differences in perimeter are important when comparing estimates of economic output, employment or value added.
The growing strategic importance attached to the cultural and creative industries has also been reflected in substantial cross-sectoral investment. According to the Ministry of Culture’s Cultural and Creative Industries overview (2026), EUR 1 billion in State investment has been mobilised for the sector, including EUR 400 million under the CCI acceleration strategy financed through the fourth Programme d’investissements d’avenir (PIA 4), a national investment programme supporting research, innovation and strategic sectors, and EUR 600 million through the Culture component of France 2030, the EUR 54 billion national investment plan launched in 2021 to accelerate innovation and the transformation of strategic sectors by 2030.
French policy towards these sectors combines general cultural objectives with specialised regulatory and financial instruments. Sector-specific public bodies, including the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), the Centre national du livre (CNL) and the Centre national de la musique (CNM), support creation, production and circulation through mechanisms adapted to their respective fields. These range from grants and selective support schemes to sector-specific funding and redistribution mechanisms. Other instruments include reduced VAT rates for certain cultural goods and services, tax credits, the fixed book price system and credit guarantees for cultural enterprises.
Founded in 2019, the Club we are_ gathers 1,450 members and 1,000 companies from the creative, cultural and digital industries. The club comprises two venues in Paris and Lille, conceived as places to bring together executives, entrepreneurs, investors, artists and creators and support the dynamism of the cultural and creative ecosystems and foster synergies at national and international level. The club also initiated the association We Are Creative which brings together major stakeholders, notably professional unions and collective management organisations from public and private sectors like ADAGP, Unifrance, UPFI, SNJV, SNE, SNEP, ADAMI, SACEM, Ekhoscènes (see chapter 7.2.1.). The association coordinated the Panorama des industries culturelles et créatives 2025, a key study to comprehend tthe socio-economic actual impacts of these industries, which had their global added value increased by 21% from 2019 to 2024.
Digital transformation has become a major structural challenge across the cultural industries. Streaming services, online platforms and algorithmic recommendation systems have reshaped production, distribution and access, particularly in audiovisual media and music. These developments have intensified policy debates concerning the remuneration of creators, market concentration, the visibility of French and European works and the capacity of national support systems to adapt to globalised digital intermediaries.
Overall, the French approach to cultural and creative industries seeks to reconcile market dynamics with sustained public intervention. A major policy challenge is to adapt this long-standing model to increasingly globalised and platform-based value chains without weakening its commitment to cultural diversity and artistic creation.
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