ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a historical account of how and why current attitudes to cultural affairs have developed as they have and examines the cultural role of the state in France today. It also discusses its economic impact, and the extent to which cultural policy-making is still influenced by tradition. The kings of France set an early precedent for state intervention in cultural affairs in several ways: chiefly, by introducing the practice of state commissions to create art works and monuments intended to reflect and enhance the prestige or grandeur of the French monarchy. Jack Lang, a flamboyant and iconoclastic politician, was Minister for Culture under President Mitterrand from 1981 to 1986, and then again from 1988 to 1993, holding this post long enough to leave a very distinctive mark on French cultural policy. His greatest contribution was undoubtedly the striking way in which he brought cultural policy to the very forefront of the political agenda.
