In brief
The Ministry of Culture's budget for 2007 was €3.2 billion. Funding provided for cultural activities was around €12.6 billion, roughly half provided by the State (49.7%) and by local authorities (50.3%). French households spend an average €1385 per year on culture, leisure, sports and games.
Books
Book fair
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, F. de La Mure
In 2006, 65,298 books were published including 33,460 new titles and 31,738 reprints totalling 512 million books. 396 million copies were printed by 277 publishing houses. Annual turnover (2006): €2.9 billion.
Cinema
Outside a Paris cinema
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, F. de La Mure
France, which invented the cinematograph in 1895, is still very active in this sector. 203 films were produced in 2006, making France second in the world for film investment. 62.5% of the French population goes to the cinema at least once a year, and 33% at least once a month. With over 5,366 cinemas - 140 of which are multiplexes - France is among the countries with the densest cinema network.
Music and dance
France is home to some 28,841 dramatic artists and dancers, 30,415 musicians and singers, 285 music, opera and dance festivals, 7,078 variety performers etc.
In addition, amateur performers are increasing in number as teaching in these fields has grown apace (more than 5,108 institutions specialise in music alone).
Theatre
Every year, some 33,300 performances put on by the national theatres, national drama centres, other subsidized playhouses and private theatres regularly attract an audience of 7.5 million. Besides the large theatres in Paris, its suburbs, in smaller French cities and world-renowned festivals such as Avignon, over a thousand independent theatre companies have sprung up.
In France, 16% of over-15 years old go to the theatre at least once a year.
Museums and monuments
- top left: Musée du Quai Branly, a showcase of the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas: view of the museum from the Seine (Paris)
- top right: Musée du Louvre: Egyptian Antiquities Department (Paris)
- bottom left: Musée d'Orsay (Paris)
- bottom right: Modern art museum at the Pompidou Centre (Paris)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, F. de La Mure, Y-J. Chen, N. Borel
Around 1,200 museums draw more than 41 millions of visitors each year.
The Louvre, the Chateau de Versailles and the Musée d'Orsay alone welcome nearly 16 million people annually.
Most cities outside Paris have at least one museum. In addition, more than 2,400 historic buildings are open to the public (seven million visitors a year), with the Eiffel Tower the most popular attraction with 6.7 million visitors a year. Moreover, some 42,300 buildings are classified as historic monuments and as such are protected by the Ministry of Culture.
www.culture.gouv.fr (FR)
Museums in video (EN)
Cultural festivals
24th annual music festival: performing in the street (Paris)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, F. de La Mure
The Internet Festival, Heritage Days, Music Festival, the literature festival Lire en Fête, and Science Week are all cultural and leisure events are extremely popular events in France and are growing more successful by the year:
- On the Heritage Days, historic buildings (ministries, embassies, firms, banks) which are usually closed to the public open their doors.
- The Fête de la Musique takes place every year on 21st June. This popular music event is free and open to both professionals and amateur performers. Since the European Year of Music in 1985, the festival has also been organized in other countries. In less than 15 years, it has been held in over 100 countries on all 5 continents.
- The aim of Science Week is to inform the public about developments in science and their implications for society.
- Focusing on books and reading, Lire en Fête organizes meetings with writers, writers' workshops and short story competitions and introduces visitors to trades within the book industry.
- The Internet Festival raises public awareness about the information society.
- The Semaine du goût Festival is an opportunity to discover France's culinary heritage, with an emphasis on the benefits of a balanced diet.
- Sources: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
- Updated: 18.06.2008
