The Cour des comptes published on 24 September 2026 a flash audit of 42 pages devoted to artificial intelligence at the Ministry of Culture. This short format of the Court, created in 2021, provides a rapid assessment on a circumscribed subject. The review, notified in November 2025, covered the ministry and a sample of ten operators.

The finding is severe: a 62-action strategy with no priorities, no timeline or identifiable budget, a project team without staff or dedicated resources, and significant funding decisions outside the ministry's control.

62 actions published on 2 July 2025, no timeline or allocation

The ministry's action strategy was published on 2 July 2025. Its 62 actions, divided into five axes, "are subject neither to clear prioritisation, nor to an implementation timeline, nor to identifiable budget allocation," the Court writes. The document is more of a "mapping" of existing initiatives than a strategic roadmap, according to the Court.

An episode precedes this strategy: a group of experts convened by the ministry in autumn 2023 produced a report entitled "Regards culturels sur l'IA" (Cultural perspectives on AI), accompanied by 22 precise and operational recommendations. It was never made public, for reasons that "could not be explained by the ministry," the Court notes.

The AI project team, created within the general secretariat at the end of 2025, is presented as the support point for the follow-up. The Court notes that it has "no authority over the digital service" and has "neither a team nor a dedicated budget."

The Court requests that this team be "put in a position to lead a realistic revision of the strategy, as early as 2026, including priorities, a timeline and specific resource allocation." It sees a shared services platform as an "essential lever" and calls for better evaluation of the first waves of the France 2030 call for projects.

France 2030 funds, the ministry observes

The ministry's own instruments are small: its digital transformation fund supported 49 projects for 2.6 million euros.

The bulk of funding comes through the France 2030 call for projects "Transition numérique de la culture et appropriation de l'IA" (Digital transition of culture and AI adoption), led by the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI). The amount specifically allocated to it is not public, the Court notes. The specifications of this call, operated by Bpifrance and the Banque des Territoires, set entry conditions: minimum eligible expenditure of 400,000 euros, a technology readiness level of 4 at application and 7 at project end.

Ministry representatives attend selection committees only as observers, without voting rights, which "raises questions in terms of principles," the Court writes.

Two of the four application rounds are closed, since 28 October 2025 and 28 April 2026. The third is set for 25 November 2026.

7.65 million euros at the BnF, no budget line at the CNL

The audit lists the resources explicitly allocated to AI by the audited operators. The National Library of France reports 7.65 million euros over three years, including 2.2 million from France 2030; INA, 5.45 million in 2025. At the other end, the National Book Centre has neither a specific budget line nor staff assigned to these issues. The Court draws from this gap a risk of "divergence" between well-resourced and fragile operators.

The ministry's response

The response of the Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard, dated 28 July 2026, lists what has moved since the investigation: a new internal charter and a practical guide; a working group led by the AI project team, expanded since May 2026 to nearly fifty operators, meeting monthly. She also defends the France 2030 call for projects, which she presents as an "accessible funding window."

A policy whose significant resources are housed elsewhere

The audit describes an administration that has passed a first stage of acculturation and experimentation, but whose "only significant financial lever" depends on an external programme, providing "one-off funding" in a "seed funding logic." The ministry nevertheless carries the French position on AI and copyright, while the European Commission opened on 29 September a targeted consultation, closed on 3 November 2026, with a section on the use of protected content by generative AI. In its report of 19 November 2025, the Court already called for strengthening public oversight of AI.

The strategy revision is expected "as early as 2026." Three months remain.

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