On this page

1. How Youth policy is funded

2. What is funded

3. Financial accountability

4. Use of EU Funds

How Youth policy is funded

The youth policy budget is set out in a 'finance law which determines the nature, amount and allocation of State resources and expenditure, as well as the resulting budgetary and financial balance' (art. 1 of the organic law on finance laws of 1 August 2001).

These annual finance laws are voted on by Parliament.

Youth mobilises interministerial and cross-cutting actions, which is also reflected in the budget. This budget is the subject of a cross-cutting policy document (DPT) which summarises the State's budgetary effort (all ministries combined) for various cross-cutting areas.

The cross-cutting policy document (DPT) for 'youth' presents the State's total investment in youth policies. It is made up of different financial programmes.

Within the cross-cutting policy document, one financial programme is specifically dedicated to voluntary activity and youth policies: programme 163, which constitutes the budget of the Directorate for Youth, Popular Education and Voluntary Activity.

The cross-cutting policy document is an exercise ancillary to the Finance law and is therefore not mandatory: a cross-cutting policy document in favour of young people was proposed in 2025 and 2024 but not in 2023.

The State's financial programme 163 ‘Youth and Associative life’ brings together part of the funds allocated to youth, popular education and associative life.

The funds for this programme amount to €973.3 million for the year 2025, which finance the following actions:

• Initiatives promoting youth and popular education (€153.4 million in funding)
• The development of civic service (€600 million in funding for the Civic Service Agency)
• The development of community life (€8.1 million for the Community Life Development Fund)

What is funded

1. Actions in favour of youth and popular education

• European and international mobility activities for young people through financial support for certain mobility operators: the Franco-German Youth Office (Office franco-allemand pour la jeunesse - OFAJ), the Franco-Quebec Youth Office (Office franco-québeciois pour la jeunesse - OFQJ) and actions in favour of the Francophonie (French-speaking world)
• information for young people (subsidies for youth information and documentation structures)
• the development of a wider range of leisure activities and the establishment of ‘holiday camps’ accessible to as many people as possible
• youth work professions
• support for Youth and Popular Education association projects (projets Jeunesse Éducation Populaire) 
• support for research activities on youth, popular education and associative life

2. The development of civic service

Established in 2010, this civic engagement programme allows all young people who wish to do so to carry out a public service mission for which they receive a stipend. In 2024, 150,000 young people benefited from this programme, an increase on the previous year's figure (144,000 in 2023).

3. The development of community life, which finances several initiatives

• The Associative Life Development Fund (Fonds de développement de la vie associative - FDVA) which support associative life at national and local level, notably volunteer training initiatives and those that constitute social innovations.
• Volunteer resources and information centres.
• Support for national and regional federations of associations
• National support for associations approved as ‘Youth and Popular Education’ (projets Jeunesse Éducation Populaire) 
• The operation of departmental delegates for community life (Délégué départementaux à la vie associative - DDVA)
• The citizen engagement account (Compte d'Engagament Citoyen - CEC):

Financial accountability

In the field of youth policies, the usual mechanisms governing financial responsibility and control over the management of public funds apply. Regarding the allocation of subsidies to associations, the following rules are in place:

In the area of youth and non-formal education measures, the Government has simplified the interactions of associations and foundations with public authorities (Order of 23 July 2015 bearing on simplification of the system for associations and foundations). This Order introduced changes to the rules governing the funding of associations.

The allocation of subsidies must now comply with both national law and European standards.

Local authorities and public institutions are also required to provide the State with lists of all subsidies allocated to associations, as well as to foundations registered as charities.

Use of EU Funds

France receives EU funding from European Structural Funds, and in the context of the 2021-2027 Erasmus+ programme, from its “Education and Training” component and its “Youth and Sports” component, which concern the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Voluntary organisations.

The “Erasmus +” programme and its youth component

With a separate budget chapter, the youth strand of the Erasmus+ programme is dedicated solely to the development of non-formal education activities.

In 2025, the budget allocated to the Erasmus+ France Youth and Sport Agency by the European Commission is €34.4 million.

The European Solidarity Corps

On the European Solidarity Corps, the French Erasmus+ Youth and Sport Agency implements two strands: volunteering and solidarity projects.

The Agency is also the National Information Point for the Sport strand of the Erasmus+ Programme. It also implements cooperation activities at national and international level. Finally, it hosts the SALTO EuroMed Resource Centre, to develop programmes and improve the capacities of youth actors in the countries of the southern Mediterranean area.

Led by the Erasmus + Youth and Sports Agency, the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) had aEuropean funding of more than €12.9 million for France in 2025.

European Structural Funds

France also benefits from European structural and investment funds under the Europe 2021-2027 Strategy.

Within the framework of economic, social and territorial cohesion policy, three European funds are mobilised for a total of 21.32 billion euros

• The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): approximately 11.075 billion euros

• The European Social Fund + (ESF+), whose scope has been extended to include the European Social Fund 2014-2020, the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), and the European Fund for Assistance to the Most Deprived (EFAH): approximately 9.16 billion euros

• The Just Transition Fund (FTJ): approximately €1.086 billion

These three funds do not specifically finance youth policies, but their objectives, including social inclusion, vocational integration and combating socio-economic difficulties, can finance projects that also concern youth.