Art Explora, a non-profit foundation whose mission is to make culture accessible to as many people as possible, commissioned this study in partnership with France Culture to examine the relationship between the French and culture, and to understand the obstacles to it.
Key findings of the study
1. Culture is considered by a large majority of French people to be a structuring element in their lives, particularly among older people, university graduates and the well-off.
2. Reading and cinema remain the most widespread cultural practices, even if their frequency is declining. Digital cultural consumption is becoming more widespread, especially among young people.
3. Cultural practice nurtures the perception of better physical and psychological balance, encouraging self-expression and greater attention to one’s own well-being.
4. People with cultural practices are characterized by greater openness to others, sensitivity to solidarity and a more assertive commitment to community life (associations, voting, climate concerns).
5. The absence of cultural practice is more due to a lack of desire than to real barriers to access, even if time and cost also play a role in some cases.
6. The “lack of desire for culture” is not an absence of desire for culture as such, but rather a difficulty in transforming interest into concrete action. The challenge is to make cultural practices more spontaneous, simpler and more compatible with saturated daily lives.
