On this page

1. Existence of a national strategy

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

4. Revisions/updates

Existence of a national strategy

The Ministry of Culture defines its primary mission as “making the major works of humanity, and first and foremost those of France, accessible to the widest possible audience”. The Ministry also specifies that it supports the development of artistic practices and arts education and contributes, alongside other ministries, to the artistic and cultural education of children and young adults.

In France, artistic and cultural education (éducation artistique et culturelle, EAC) refers to a nationwide framework designed to encourage all children and young people to participate in artistic and cultural life, through the acquisition of knowledge, encounters with works of art, encounters with artists and cultural professionals, and artistic or cultural activities. It is not a standalone compulsory subject, but a cross-cutting educational pathway embedded in the French education system and supported by a broader national policy framework.

Current policy orientations also stress the continuity of artistic and cultural education across all stages of life and increasingly integrate cross-cutting themes such as media literacy, equality and diversity, disability inclusion, and ecological transition.

Scope and contents

French cultural youth policy is framed primarily by artistic and cultural education (éducation artistique et culturelle, EAC), a nationwide framework intended to give every child and young person regular access to culture through learning, encounters and practice. The Ministry of Education presents EAC as a complementary form of learning that should reach every pupil from nursery school to upper secondary school each year. Within the curriculum, arts education remains compulsory in primary school and lower secondary school, while the broader EAC pathway extends beyond the classroom into extracurricular and out-of-school time.

The operational backbone of this framework is the Arts and cultural education initiative (Parcours d’éducation artistique et culturelle - PEAC), which coordinates pupils’ artistic and cultural experiences across school, extracurricular and out-of-school time. Its implementation is supported by ADAGE, the digital tool used to manage and map EAC projects and funding, and by the collective part of the pass Culture, which finances group EAC activities for pupils from grade 6 to the final year of lycée. The collective pass Culture covers workshops, performances, concerts, screenings, visits, conferences, festivals and similar activities carried out with cultural partners.

At territorial level, the 100% EAC label has become one of the main policy instruments. Created in 2021, it recognises local authorities that commit to providing EAC for 100% of the young people in their territory, with the ambition of reaching every young person aged 0 to 25. The label is jointly awarded by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, and is built around three pillars: knowledge, artistic practice, and encounters with works and artists.

In practice, the framework is also carried by recurring national schemes and territorial partnerships. In 2026, La Classe, l’œuvre! brings pupils from nursery school to upper secondary school into contact with works held by nearby cultural institutions; territorial artistic and cultural residencies in schools are developed in partnership with schools and local cultural actors and aim to reduce inequalities of access to art and culture; and C’est mon patrimoine! continues to support activities outside school time, including during Plan mercredi provision. The Ministry’s current guidance also highlights cross-cutting domains such as heritage, reading, cinema, scientific and technical culture, media literacy, inclusion, and ecological transition.

Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

Responsibility for the implementation of artistic and cultural education (éducation artistique et culturelle, EAC) is shared. At the national level, the policy is jointly led by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of National Education. Since 2025, it has also been coordinated through an Interministerial delegation dedicated to artistic and cultural education, whose role is to ensure follow-up and coordination between the two ministries in order to support the generalisation of EAC. Within the Ministry of Culture, this policy is designed and coordinated by the Directorate General for Cultural Democracy, Teaching and Research, while territorial implementation relies in particular on the Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs (DRAC), which act as the ministry’s decentralised services.

Implementation is therefore highly collaborative and territorially based. The Ministry of Education stresses that EAC accompanies teaching and that every pupil should benefit each year from learning, encounters and practice; the Ministry of Culture likewise presents EAC as a multipartner policy built with schools, cultural institutions, artists and local authorities. In practice, this means that the State sets the strategic framework, while local authorities, schools and cultural actors contribute to delivery through projects, residencies, partnerships and labelled initiatives such as the 100% EAC framework

For further information on the structure of the Ministry of Culture, see: https://www.culture.gouv.fr/nous-connaitre/organisation-du-ministere