Crafts in France
Crafts are handmade crafts. They mobilize traditional know-how of high technical, often exceptional.
The 281 crafts are defined by law and officially listed in a arrested. Their purpose is the creation or restoration of heritage. Trades of the hand, they require years of practice before reaching a perfect mastery of the gestures.
An ecosystem dedicated to creation and heritage
Arts and crafts are not a unique sector but can be found in several economic sectors: luxury and fashion, architecture and interior decoration, heritage, live entertainment... Professionals in the arts and crafts work with noble and durable or ennobled raw materials such as earth, stone, metal, wood and animal and vegetable textile materials or materials resulting from recent technological innovation. They therefore depend on several channels.
The crafts, strongly steeped in history, are well established in the local territories: Aubusson around the tapestry, Vallauris or Limoges around the ceramic, Thiers around the cutlery, the crystals and glassware of Lorraine…
The inventory of craft know-how under the intangible cultural heritage French has made it possible to carry out an important localization work.
France is known for its excellent crafts
The national identity was forged around the excellence craftsmanship of luxury and heritage. The State wanted to draw up an official list of these trades twenty years ago and define them by law. The European Days of Crafts (JEMA, 2 million visits per year) celebrate each spring with a European partner the professionals of crafts and living heritage. On the occasion of the European Heritage Days (JEP, 8 million visitors per year), crafts are also featured in historical monuments and museums. The business know-how tourism is now booming and is of increasing interest to the general public, especially during the summer period (15 million visitors per year).