France 6.3

Household expenditure on culture in France reflects the profound transformation of cultural consumption over the past two decades. While overall expenditure has remained relatively stable in real terms, its composition has changed substantially. Household spending has progressively shifted from the purchase of physical cultural goods towards expenditure on digital services, subscriptions and internet-based access to cultural content. This evolution reflects broader changes in cultural practices associated with digitalisation, the expansion of streaming platforms and the growing integration of cultural consumption into everyday digital uses.

Table 6: Household final effective consumption of cultural and culture-related goods and services in France (2019 and 2024, current prices)

Source: Ministry of Culture (DEPS), Chiffres clés, statistiques de la culture et de la communication 2025, based on INSEE National Accounts (base 2020).

Note: The table has been adapted from the French satellite account for culture published by DEPS. Unlike the standard Compendium template, the French satellite account follows its own classification of cultural and culture-related goods and services. The categories presented here therefore follow the official DEPS nomenclature while retaining the four broad expenditure domains used in the Compendium template. Percentages were calculated on the basis of total household final effective consumption of cultural and culture-related goods and services reported by DEPS. Average per capita expenditure was calculated using DEPS household expenditure data and INSEE resident population estimates.

The evolution of household expenditure reflects the continuing transformation of cultural consumption in France between 2019 and 2024. While expenditure on books remained relatively stable, spending on newspapers and several forms of physical audiovisual media declined. At the same time, expenditure on communication-related services and certain digital activities increased, illustrating the growing importance of digital technologies in access to cultural content.

Compared with 2019, expenditure on cultural services had increased by 2024, particularly for museums, libraries and other cultural services. Household spending on cinema attendance also recovered following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the return of audiences to cultural venues. These trends suggest that the expansion of digital consumption has not replaced demand for in-person cultural experiences but has instead reshaped the overall composition of household cultural expenditure.

More broadly, the structure of household expenditure demonstrates the increasing integration of digital technologies into everyday cultural consumption. The growing weight of communication services, digital equipment and related activities highlights the evolving boundaries of the cultural economy and illustrates the challenges of measuring cultural expenditure in an environment where cultural content is increasingly accessed through digital infrastructures. These developments raise important policy questions concerning the regulation of digital markets, the accessibility of cultural content and the adaptation of cultural statistics to new forms of consumption.