Europe 1 with AFP 17:54 p.m., May 30, 2023

The government announced on Tuesday that it will invest 340 million euros over three years for crafts, in order to better "structure, transmit and develop" these professions, especially among young people.

The government announced on Tuesday that it will invest 340 million euros over three years for crafts, in order to better "structure, transmit and develop" these professions, especially among young people.

The digitization of artisans' gestures

Among the main axes of this plan presented Tuesday at the Mobilier national in Paris, in the presence of the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak and Olivia Grégoire, in charge of Crafts: the promotion of crafts among young people and the improvement of training.

Several measures aim to "encourage vocations", including the opening of 1,000 places for 3rd year internships with craftsmen, the creation of 730 new craft activities for 15-19 year olds via the Pass culture, or the development of discovery workshops for 35,000 young people via a network of associations, said the ministry in a statement.

Emphasis will also be placed on "training in the arts and crafts within the reform of vocational schools, including the payment of an internship allowance during periods of training in companies", with a budget of about 20 million euros per year. To avoid "the loss of certain know-how", the government announces that it wishes to develop the "digitization of craftsmen's gestures", and the budget devoted to the "Master of Art – Student device, allowing the transmission of rare trades", will be doubled.

Professions that have "all the assets to meet the challenges of the future"

Another measure announced: "the renewal of the Métiers d'Art Tax Credit (CIMA), which was due to expire at the end of 2023 and which represents an annual expenditure of 47 million euros", a device to "reduce design costs and wage costs".

These professions "have all the assets to meet the challenges of the future and help us build a more eco-responsible, more human, more supportive society," said Tuesday the Minister of Culture, in front of an audience of craftsmen, deputies and associations. "At a time when the economy is changing under the effect of technological, climatic and social changes, one might think that crafts, these ancient know-how, are threatened with obsolescence: on the contrary, they have never been so topical," added his colleague in the government, Olivia Grégoire.