Policy Profile France
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Policy Profile France
France is a member state of the European Union and is therefore required to implement all EU directives, laws, regulations and policies, including those related to heritage and culture.
The European Commission has a Representation Office in Paris, with a regional branch in Marseille, and the European Parliament has Liaison Offices both in Paris and Marseille. The French Government has a Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels.
Within the Government, the Ministère de la Culture (Ministry of Culture) is the leading body responsible for the French cultural policy framework. Its main role consists in defining, coordinating, and evaluating the Government’s policies concerning arts, culture, architecture, and the protection of cultural heritage. It also encourages the creation and dissemination of cultural and artistic creations, and decides how funds are to be distributed between its different departments, such as the Direction générale des patrimoines et de l’architecture (DGPA) (General Directorate for Heritage and Architecture) or the Délégation générale à la transmission, aux territoires et à la démocratie culturelle (DG2TDC) (General delegation for transmission, territories and cultural democracy).
In promoting the dissemination of culture, the Ministry works in collaboration with other ministries such as the Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse (Ministry of National Education and Youth), or the Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères (Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs). The Government also has to work with Parliament, divided in two chambers which is responsible for voting the laws. In this case, it is the Commission des affaires culturelles et de l’éducation (Commission for cultural affairs and education) of the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) and the Commission de la culture, de l’éducation et de la communication (Commission for culture, education and communication) of the Sénat (Senate) which are in charge.
The Ministry of Culture assigns to structures, places, and sites, various protections, labels and designations whose purpose is to value and support the diversity of heritage and creations throughout the French territory. Some examples of labelled structures are the “Musées de France” (Museums of France), “Scènes nationale” (National Theatres), or the designation “Sites patrimoniaux remarquables” (Remarkable Heritage Sites). There is also a certain number of public cultural institutions that enjoy some administrative and financial autonomy to fulfil a mission of general interest.
There are different devolved authorities in France. The country is composed of 18 administrative divisions called “régions” (regions), 5 of them located overseas. They are the most important territorial divisions in France, and each holds a local government led by a regional prefect representing the state. These authorities cannot write their own statutory law but can levy their own taxes, manage a separate budget, and exercise power over regional decisions. The French regions are also fractionated into sub-territorial divisions called “départements” (department / counties). There are 101 departments in France, including 5 overseas, each administered by a departmental council, an elected body representing the state, similar to the regions. The departments are further divided into “communes” (municipalities) governed by municipal councils, which hold power of decision and implementation limited to the cities.
Concerning the country’s cultural framework, the 18 regions are quite influential. In each of them, the correspondent Direction régionale des affaires culturelles (DRAC) (Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs) is in charge of implementing the projects and policies defined by the Ministry of Culture in their territory. Since these decentralised bodies are independent from one another, they can define their own objectives and strategies, as long as they stay in line with central state policy. The work of the DRACs is also decentralised within the departments, but they must align with the guidelines produced by the regions to which they belong.
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* = This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence
