Japanese Government Policies in Education, Science, Sports and Culture 2000[Part 1 Chapter 4 Section 3 1]

In France, during the age of royalism, artists and art organizations came under the protection of the royal house and aristocracy. Following the French Revolution, the public sector became responsible for cultural activities and the French government's tradition of subsidizing the arts was established. Throughout the nineteenth century, the educational aspect of cultural policy was emphasized from the perspective of enlightenment of the bourgeois class in order to nurture a free citizenry. Consequently, ministries dealing with education also became responsible for such activities as the maintenance of art galleries and the protection of historical buildings.

In 1959, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (presently the Ministry of Culture and Communication) was separated from the Ministry of National Education, and Andre Malraux was appointed as the first Minister of State for Cultural Affairs. Thereafter, the French government implemented cultural policies not from an educational point of view, but with the goal of connecting the general public with art and culture. French policies in this era were called action culturelle, or cultural action, and emphasized the following concepts:

(a) Renovation of priceless historic buildings and artifacts in order to reflect the great glory of France (b) Support for modern artists (c) Construction of "Maison de la Culture": complex cultural facilities as a means of equalizing the general public's access to culture

In the 1970s, the French government employed a policy called "cultural development." This policy aimed for the democratization of arts and culture, from the view that arts and culture play an important role in the formulation of an individual's personality. The Centre Ponpidou, which is a cultural center for ordinary citizens, was planned during the 1970s.

The 1980s was the decade of "art creation." This decade has the following five distinctive characteristics:

(a) Expansion of the budget for cultural activities (The so-called Grand Project was implemented, which included the renovation, extension, and establishment of various cultural facilities in Paris.) (b) Enlarging the subject field of cultural policy (The government expanded its focus beyond elegant, sophisticated high art, to also include popular culture, life culture, fashion, cuisine, and rock music, as well as a variety of cultures which have poured into France from all over the world and which are created or performed in France.) (c) Support for audio-visual industries such as television and film (d) A positive commitment to cultural industries (For example, the French government increased subsidies particularly for the production of films, guaranteed loans for producing films, established preferential tax treatment for film production, and allowed the private sector to enter the realm of TV broadcasting.) (e) Delegation of some of the central government's authority to local institutions (for example, in the fine arts field, the central government delegated the authority to maintain local agencies for cultural administration and to establish foundations to purchase collections for local art galleries.)

Currently, the Ministry of Culture and Communication is responsible for the promotion of culture and arts, the protection of cultural properties, and the management of national art and cultural facilities. In 2000, the budget for the Ministry of Culture and Communication was 15.7 billion francs (approximately 303.7 billion yen), which comprises 0.94% of the national budget.


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