Long-awaited, originally scheduled for January 1st, the transformation of the SAS pass Culture into a state operator has once again been postponed. However, the structure now assures that it should happen soon as they are currently developing their strategic project for 2030.
As part of this process, the SAS has initiated a consultation with its partners to understand the expectations on the ground and clarify the role of the pass Culture in the coming years, as a public service in terms of cultural democratization and affirmation of the cultural rights of youth. Cultural actors are invited to participate through an online questionnaire. The consultation is open until April 14th.
This initiative will inform the development of the strategic project, which is expected to be finalized by the end of spring 2026. This roadmap will focus on two main objectives: “Continue its commitment to all youth and the discovery of cultural diversity” and “Expand its actions to the entire population through the pass Culture for all.”
It is important to note that the second objective does not involve opening new credits to other beneficiaries but simply aims to open the pass Culture application to the entire population to make it a tool for identifying local cultural offerings.
A true public service
The transformation of the SAS pass Culture into a state operator will result in the allocation of a subsidy “for public service obligations”. This funding will support the entity’s operations and ensure better information about its actions and results, which have been particularly criticized in recent years.
The shift of the SAS pass Culture has been requested since at least 2023, particularly by the Court of Auditors, which highlighted management, control of public spending, and long-term strategic positioning issues in a report published this year. In April 2025, an investigation was even opened for “illegal taking of interests” in the context of the program’s conception.
Recently, while cultural industries—especially the book industry—have expressed support for the pass Culture and the credits it provides to young people, some parliamentarians have lamented that the focus of public action on this program has been to the detriment of artistic and cultural education (EAC).
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The transition to a state operator will also involve “an expansion of its governance to include representatives of local authorities to concretize this strategic partnership between the state and local authorities, as well as its operational implementation in all territories,” according to the pass Culture.
This expansion follows the sharing of data collected by the pass Culture application with local authorities as part of an experiment. Here too, the legal form of the entity somewhat limited the initial ambitions of the program.
The Court of Auditors was also highly critical on this point: “[T]he data exploited by the company pass Culture are currently subject to insufficient sharing with the ministry, whether it be central departments or DRACs, despite a convention between the company and the DEPS supposed to facilitate access to the data,” it emphasized.
Photography: ActuaLitté, CC BY SA 2.0
By Antoine Oury
Contact: ao@actualitte.com
