Heritage and cultural policy in France under the fifth republic

From the French Revolution to the present day, the State in France has used the heritage as a means of nationbuilding. But the sense of what is being protected--moving from historical monuments to heritage--has undergone a profound evolution. When in 1959, a Ministry for Cultural Affairs was created and entrusted to André Malraux, the State had already been pursuing a heritage policy for over a century. Moreover, there are numerous forms of heritage informing cultural policy in the domains of heritage protection and valorisation. The current situation is also linked to important shifts that took shape essentially over the 1970s. This article shows the degree to which the State has influenced the evolution of the notion of heritage.