| Minister of Culture | |
|---|---|
| Ministre de la Culture | |
 | |
 | |
| Member of | Council of Ministers |
| Reports to | President of the Republic and toParliament |
| Residence | Palais-Royal |
| Seat | Paris, France |
| Appointer | President of the Republic |
| Term length | No fixed term Remains in office while commanding the confidence of theNational Assembly and thePresident of the Republic |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of 4 October 1958 |
| Formation | 8 January 1959 |
| First holder | André Malraux |
| Salary | €9,940 per month |
| Website | www |
TheMinistry of Culture (French:Ministère de la Culture[ministɛʁdəlakyltyʁ]) is theministry of theGovernment of France in charge ofnational museums and themonuments historiques. Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, plastic, theatrical, musical, dance, architectural, literary, televisual and cinematographic) on national soil and abroad. Its budget is mainly dedicated to the management of theArchives Nationales (six national sites and hundred decentralised storage facilities) and the regionalMaisons de la culture (culture centres).
Its main office is in thePalais-Royal in the1st arrondissement of Paris on theRue de Valois.[1][2] It is headed by the Minister of Culture, a cabinet member. The current officeholder has beenRachida Dati since 11 January 2024.
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Deriving from theItalian andBurgundian courts of theRenaissance, the notion that the state had a key role to play in the sponsoring of artistic production and that the arts were linked to national prestige was found in France from at least the 16th century on. During the pre-revolutionary period, these ideas are apparent in such things as the creation of theAcadémie française, theAcadémie de peinture et de sculpture and other state-sponsored institutions of artistic production, and through the cultural policies ofLouis XIV's ministerJean-Baptiste Colbert.
The modern post of Minister of Culture was created byCharles de Gaulle in 1959 and the first officeholder was the writerAndré Malraux. Malraux was responsible for realising the goals of thedroit à la culture ('right to culture'), an idea which had been incorporated in theConstitution of France and theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), by democratising access to culture, while also achieving theGaullist aim of elevating the "grandeur" ('greatness') of post-war France. To this end, he created numerous regional cultural centres throughout France and actively sponsored the arts. Malraux's artistic tastes included the modern arts and the avant-garde, but on the whole he remained conservative.
Under PresidentFrançois Mitterrand the Minister of Culture wasJack Lang who showed himself to be far more open to popular cultural production, includingjazz,rock and roll,rap music,graffiti,bande dessinées,fashion andfood. His famous phrase "économie et culture, même combat" ('economy and culture: it's the same fight') is representative of his commitment to cultural democracy and to active national sponsorship and participation in cultural production. In addition to the creation of theFête de la Musique and overseeing the French Revolution bicentennial (1989), he was in charge of themassive architectural program of theFrançois Mitterrand years (the so-calledGrands travaux; 'Great Works') that gave permission for the building of theBibliothèque nationale, the newLouvre, theArab World Institute, theMusée d'Orsay, theOpéra-Bastille, the "Grande Arche" ofLa Défense (the Parisian business quarter), the new seat of theFrench Ministry for the Economy and Finance, theJean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, and theCité des Sciences et de l'Industrie andCité de la Musique, both in theParc de la Villette.
The Ministry ofJacques Toubon was notable for a number of laws (the "Toubon Laws") enacted for the preservation of theFrench language, both in advertisements (all ads must include a French translation of foreign words) and on the radio (35% of songs on French radio stations must be in French), ostensibly in reaction to the presence of English.
The following people were appointed Minister of Culture of France:
Since the French constitution does not identify specific ministers (merely speaking of "the minister in charge of" this or that), each government may label each ministry as they wish, or even have a broader ministry in charge of several governmental sectors. Hence, the ministry has gone through a number of different names:
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The Ministry of Culture is made up of a variety of internal divisions, including:
The Ministry has access to one inter-ministerial division:
The Ministry also runs three "delegations" (administrative boards):
Finally, the Ministry shares in the management of theNational Centre of Cinema (Centre national de la cinématographie, CNC), a public institution.[3]
TheAlliance française is run by theMinistry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.[4]
On the national level, the Ministry also runs:
The Ministry of Culture is responsible for, or a major sponsor of, a number of annual cultural activities, including theFête de la Musique, theMaison de la culture de Grenoble, theFestival d'Avignon, thePublic Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles, theJoconde (online database of objects in French museums), theBase Mérimée (database of listed heritage monuments), and theMaître d'art program.
Nous contacter: 3, rue de Valois, 75001 Paris
